Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
Tamilnadu Strike: A Retrograde Judgement
A two-member Bench of the Supreme Court has in a judgement declared that government employees "under no circumstances have any fundamental, legal or moral right to go on strike". This is an unprecedented judgement which at one stroke deprives lakhs of government employees of their basic right to organise and resort to strike action. This judgement is contrary to the fundamental rights in the Constitution and the ILO conventions to which India is a party.
The judgement further makes unwarranted assertions against the political parties and organisations which seek to register the protest of people who are suffering under severe socio-economic oppression. Instead of safeguarding the rights of citizens, the judgement has more or less endorsed the draconian ordinance amending the Tamilnadu Essential Services Maintenance Act.
It is unfortunate that the highest court in the country, which is expected to uphold basic rights and check arbitrary State actions against citizens, has come out with such a retrograde judgement. The democratic forces in the country will find this judgement unacceptable.