KOCHI:'Say No to Hartal', which along with Better Kochi Response Group (BKRG), is spearheading the campaign to rid the state of self-defeating hartals, has come to the realisation it is the public - not the political parties sponsoring the general strike - who actually turn these shutdowns into protests which paralyse normal life.
"We believe the people alone should be blamed for the strike being turned into hartals. A strike is something staged in organisations as a form of protest. It is the complacent Malayalees who have encouraged the menace called hartal which paralyses the state," said Raju P Nair, general convener, 'Say No to Hartal'. The BKRG, for its part, is now looking at two options - convening a high- powered meeting or seeking legal recourse to put an end to the nemesis. According to it, besides throwing normal life out of gear and denying the average person his/her livelihood, the hartals adversely impact the state's business prospects.
S Gopakumar, BKRG president, said, "We are looking at two options now, a high-power meeting with political leaders to find a lasting solution to this. Or else, legal recourse will be sought to protect the rights of the people."
"They( the hartal supporters) managed to paralyse the state and this is definitely not going to be the last. The gall shown by the hartal sponsors in announcing they will indeed allow milk vans, airport-bound vehicles and ambulances to pass unhindered is in itself a manipulation of the system." " Between the lines, they are saying everything else will be stopped. To stop a group of people - like auto drivers and daily wage workers who get the money to run their houses based on their daily income, students from getting education or people from having access to basic necessities like food is unacceptable. How can a group of people be allowed to bring the state to a standstill?" he said.