Comrade Provash Ghosh, General Secretary, SUCI(C) has issued the following statement today :—
It is reported in the media that the BJP-led central government is going to bring another black Act to pass on the responsibility of loss incurred or damage caused to the government during any call of strike or hartal squarely on the leaders or political parties. The proposed Act is going to stipulate that if there is any damage caused to government property during the strike or hartal, the leaders calling the strike or bandh will have to compensate that by paying the market value of the damaged property. The leaders, so accused of causing damage to government property, will also have to themselves prove their innocence. A draft of the said Act stated to be brought out by adding new clauses to the existing “Prevention of damage to public property, 1984 Act” has already been sent to the states for their opinion.
We strongly condemn such a fascist move to deal a severe blow to democratic movement by virtually banning the time-tested form of registering protest through strike or hartal, take away the fundamental right to protest and muzzle the voice of opposition. We demand of the government to resist from framing such an anti-people law and call upon the people to close their rank in right earnest and build up powerful movement to force the government retrace its step.
