Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday slammed the total shutdown in Kerala during the nationwide strike by trade unions against the Union Government’s labour codes. He called it a “lamentable irony” and said the protest had effectively turned into just another “Kerala Bandh”.
In a post on his social media handle, Tharoor said that while most of India has moved beyond such coercive disruptions, Kerala continues to remain hostage to what he termed the organised tyranny of a minority over the unorganised majority. “It is a lamentable irony that today’s Bharat Bandh is, in reality, merely another Kerala Bandh,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Kerala Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan also questioned how a nationwide strike could turn into a hartal or total shutdown in the state.
“My stand has been consistent since I entered politics: I support the right to protest, but not the right to obstruct. No Indian has the constitutional right to impede the free movement of another,” Tharoor said.
He said people in Kerala had driven industry away through militant unionism. By clinging to antediluvian methods of “muscle power”, citizens are forced to stay indoors, shopkeepers are compelled to shut their shops, and the state is made unwelcoming for youth and enterprise.
“It is high time we outgrew this self-destructive habit. We can always replace it with constructive dissent,” he said. “I have long argued, even when my own party is involved, that the right to strike does not include the right to enforce a shutdown on others. To paralyse a state, disrupting daily life, commerce, and movement, is an assault on the liberty of the common citizen,” Tharoor further said.
He said Kerala’s image has suffered enough because of militant unionism that extends beyond factories into public spaces and homes. “We cannot aspire to be a modern, investor-friendly destination while adhering to outdated forms of agitation that the rest of the world—and indeed, the rest of India—has discarded,” he stated.
“Let us respect the right to dissent, but also firmly defend the right to disagree and the freedom to work and travel. Protest should be a moral statement, not a physical blockade,” he added.
Even though Congress-affiliated trade unions also joined the nationwide strike, the party and the UDF went ahead with their state-wide election rally on Thursday. This drew sharp criticism from Left-affiliated workers’ bodies and leaders.
Meanwhile, the LDF suspended its development rally for the day, after its leaders announced support for the trade unions following the strike.
Also read: Nationwide strike on Feb 12, trade unions expect 30 crore workers
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