Making it clear emphatically that she would not allow the bandh to shut down the state on Tuesday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to use the service break rule against those government employees who would not report for duty. “Our government is determined to keep Bengal moving on the day of the bandh. If any government employee does not report for duty or transport employee does not bring out the public vehicle then he can face the service break,” she warned.
In an interview to a news channel, the chief minister said she would not allow the bandh to disrupt normal life.
“Tomorrow, buses and trams will be on the roads and shops and markets will remain open. No one will be allowed to create any trouble anywhere. If someone tries to enforce the bandh, then the police and administration will deal with them firmly,” she added. On her advice, two control rooms have been set up (one each at Writers’ Buildings and Lalbazar police headquarters) to keep a vigil. The phone numbers of the control rooms are: 100, 1090, 22143024, 22143230, 22145486, 22145097 and 22144031.
Eleven central trade unions have given a call for All-India industrial strike on Tuesday. In Bengal, the CPI(M)’s labour wing Citu has turned it into general strike and is determined to disrupt normal life. To keep the state running during bandh has become a prestige issue for Trinamul Congress government which has taken a number of measures. The chief secretary has issued a notice cancelling all leaves of government employees on February 28.
Transport minister Madan Mitra had already stirred a hornet’s nest by threatening to use service break rule against transport employees who skip duty on the day. By repeating the warning, the chief minister further reaffirmed her resolve to foil the bandh.
Acknowledging that when the Trinamul Congress was in opposition, it also used to call bandh, Ms Banerjee said: “But when I realised that a bandh solves no problem, I shunned it. It was my mistake and I made amends. The people have forgiven me.”
In another unprecedented move, she made arrangements for the overnight stay of government employees in their respective offices. In an attempt to dispel fears of violence and vandalism, Ms Banerjee assured the people that the administration would not allow any untoward incident.