KOLKATA: Taking a tough stand against tomorrow's Congress-sponsored 12-hour bandh in West Bengal, the state government today said all its offices would remain open and employees should report for duty, even as the Congress charged the government with using "terror tactic" to foil the shutdown.
"It has been decided that all state government offices, including those provided with grants-in-aid by the state government would remain open and all employees should report for duty on that date," a memorandum issued by the state Finance Department said.
It further said that the "Governor has decided that absence of employees on that date will be treated as 'dies non' and no salary will be admissable unless such absence is covered by the grounds as mentioned in a memo issued by the department in 2012".
The Congress has called the bandh to protest the alleged killing of a student in Sabang College in West Midnapore district and "terror and violence" by the ruling party.
Accusing the TMC government of trying to resort to "terror" to foil tomorrow's bandh, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the government is saying, "bandh can't be observed. It will counter the bandh firmly".
Senior Congress leader Manas Bhunia earlier pointed out that Mamata Banerjee as an opposition leader used to call bandh, but now the "circular issued by her government against tomorrow's bandh demonstrated its authoritarian attitude".
BJP state president Rahul Sinha said, "Although the state is experiencing jungle raj, his party is not supporting bandh".
Left Front chairman Biman Bose struck an ambivalent note, saying they are neither opposing nor supporting tomorrow's bandh.