The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party responded cautiously to the two-day strike by trade unions, while the Left parties said the Centre should see the ‘writing on the wall’.
The Congress, whose workers‘ arm, INTUC, was part of the strike call by 11 trade unions, said it was the successive Congress-led Governments that were behind “progressive” labour legislations in the country.
Party spokesperson P.C. Chacko said the unions should have responded to the offer by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for discussions. He said the Congress was sympathetic to the demands of the workers but condemned the coercive methods allegedly used by the workers in various parts of the country. Chacko said workers in India were safer than their counterparts in various other countries, as they enjoyed Government protection.
The BJP, whose trade union wing, BMS, was also on strike, condemned the violence. However, it said the workers’ strike reflected the mood against the policies of the Centre.
Meanwhile, the Left parties boycotted the day’s proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament in solidarity with the strike. Terming the strike as ‘historic’, the parties said in a statement that it was the biggest working class action since Independence.
“The Central Government has to immediately address the demands raised by the general strike, otherwise bigger actions will follow. This is a wake-up call to stop anti-people and anti-working class policies,” all Left parties said in the statement.