Kerala Brought To a Standstill PEOPLE of Kerala once again rose to the occasion to make the all India strike a grand success. The whole state remained stand still and the normal life was affected. Factories, offices both government and private, shops and establishments remained closed. No public transport was functional throughout the day. Braving the threat of the government to cut one day’s wages, majority of state government employees and teachers too took part in the strike. Workers and employees in all sections staged huge marches before their respective work places. University examinations and Public Service Commission examinations were postponed. Employees of Reserve Bank of India and other banks, LIC, KSEB, BSNL and NABARD have also participated in the strike. Though the BMS national leadership had announced its withdrawal from the strike, workers belonging to this trade union too participated in the strike in various factories. A massive rally before the secretariat building in Thiruvananthapuram was inaugurated by CITU state president Anathalavattam Anandan. (N S Sajith) Sept 2 Strike A Huge Success in Tripura THE Tripura state secretariat of the CPI(M) in a statement has congratulated the people of Tripura for the tremendous support and peaceful observance of September 2 all India strike call, in the state. Responding to the call of the central trade unions and various federations for the strike in protest against the anti-working class measures and various anti-people policies pursued by the BJP-led NDA government at the centre, the people of Tripura spontaneously observed a total strike bringing normal life to a standstill in every sector in the state. All kinds of vehicular traffic were off the road. No shops and market did open. All government offices, courts, schools and colleges remained closed. The only train from Karimganj to Agartala did not operate. Shutters of all industrial units, banks and insurance sectors were kept down. No worker, either in tea estate or rubber plantations and government orchards did turn up for work. Thousands of workers belonging to the trade unions and Left parties held a demonstration on September 1 in all the sub divisional headquarters including capital city of Agartala highlighting the 12 point charter of demands of the Central Trade Unions and urging people to observe the strike. Left Front workers also took to the street from dawn to dusk on September 2 for picketing in favour of bandh. The fact that there was no resistance to the bandh and the people supported it wholeheartedly, displays the widespread anger against the anti-labour policies being pursued by the central government. (Rahul Sinha) Strike in Tamil Nadu And Puducherry THE nationwide strike called by 10 Central Trade Unions to protest against changes in labour laws and privatisation of PSUs was very successful in Tamil Nadu. Shops and commercial establishments remained closed in main industrial centres as trade unions were holding protests across the state. Attendance was thin in government offices, including RTOs in the districts, while participating trade unions staged demonstrations across the state. All TUs and all mass organisations organised rail roko, road roko in Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Thirunelveli and in hundreds of centres across the state. Road roko took place at more than 280 places. Rail roko agitations were held and railway tracks were blocked at 50 stations. A total of 25,000 people were arrested at various places and released later in the evening. Nearly 15,000 people staged demonstrations. Several of the central government establishments downed shutters. The Income Tax offices, which were quite busy over the last one week due to last minute filing of IT returns, wore a deserted look. In Tirupur, nearly 10,000 textile mills and hosiery units were closed, following support extended by workers to the strike. Hotels and food joints also remained closed .In Tirupur, Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts, private buses, taxies, vans and nearly 15,000 auto rickshaws were off the roads. In Nilgiris district, all the staff at government-owned Cordite factory in Aruvangad participated in the strike. STRIKE FINDS ECHO IN ASSEMBLY The nationwide strike found an echo in the Tamil Nadu assembly with major opposition parties, including the DMK, demanding a resolution in the House highlighting the trade unions’ charter of demands. Members of the Left parties and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) drew the attention of the House by displaying notices bearing slogans against the centre. While the DMK members remained in the House, in a rare show of solidarity, MLAs belonging to the Left, Puthiya Tamizhagam and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and the Congress party staged a walk out and subsequently tried to hold a road roko in front of Fort St George. Police prevented them near the main gate. A few MLAs were hit when the security men brought down the iron pipe at the checkpoint. CPI(M) MLA, K Annadurai was also hurt. CPI(M) floor leader A Soundararajan said the Left parties and others tried to stage a road roko to highlight the BJP government’s plan to bring in changes in labour laws, its attempt to destroy rural employment guarantee scheme etc. “The Centre has become a proxy of the corporate houses,” said a notice carried by the members. STRIKE IN PUDUCHERRY Normal life was paralysed in Puducherry due to the nation-wide strike called by the Central Trade Unions. Activists of Left parties, members of trade unions owing allegiance to the Left parties, Congress, DMK, PMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi held agitations at arterial junctions of the city including Nehru Street, Indira Gandhi Statue and Rajiv Gandhi Statue. They raised slogans against the union government and UT government for adopting anti-labour policies and tweaking labour laws in favour of corporates. Around 1,000 persons were arrested and taken into custody by police personnel. Most of the traders, shop-keepers and commercial establishments downed the shutters in spite of the call given by the traders’ federation against the closure of shops. (S P Rajendran)