Commuters heave sigh of relief as motormen call off agitation; RR Patil assures all issues will be resolved by June 15; Motormen warn of a bigger strike if promises not kept.
Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s choice of furthering her political interests in Kolkata over the plight of lakhs of commuters in Mumbai became the latest hot potato for the UPA in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday as the agitated opposition parties, including her arch rival, the Left grouping, went after her hammer and tongs for “shirking” her duties.
Mamata has been stationed in Kolkata since Saturday last week to oversee the filing of nominations by her partymen for Kolkata civic elections, despite being informed by her ministry about the strike call a day before.
The combative Trinamool Congress did attempt to strike back, but only to be pushed further into a corner. The clash that ensued after Trinamool MP Sudip Bandopadhya snapped at CPM veteran Basudeb Acharya while defending his leader plunged the Lok Sabha into turmoil, and led to protests and adjournments all through the day.
As Bandopadhya hurled expletives on Acharya, the entire opposition erupted in anger and demanded an apology from the Trinamool leader before permitting the normal proceedings.
Notwithstanding the opposition charge that Mamata had not cared to address the motormen’s grievances, which they have been raising since January this year, the ruling UPA said that the negotiations with the striking railway employees were delayed as the unions behind the agitation were not recognised.
However, Sanjay Nirupam, the Congress MP from Mumbai North, forcefully pleaded with the government earlier in the day not to get bogged down with this technicality.
Talking to DNA, he said that it was immaterial whether the unions were recognized, or not. “Although I am not associated with trade unions, in this case my feeling is that the four unions behind the strikes were able to make an impact, and the government should have listened to them. I appreciate the Maharashtra government’s efforts in starting dialogue with the striking motormen,” he said.
Meanwhile, the demands of the motormen appear to have been put on the back burner. “The central committee looking into the grievances, which are beyond the purview of the Sixth Pay Commission, will submit its report on June 15. The recommendations will have to be ratified by the Union finance ministry before being implemented,” said a railway ministry official.
The Shiv Sena MPs had trooped into the well of Lok Sabha with placards reading ‘Mumbai comes to a grinding halt’, as they raised the issue of the strike by motormen. BJP’s deputy leader in the house, Gopinath Munde, Sanjiv Naik from the NCP, including Nirupam, made a plea for redressing the motormen’s grievances.
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