Assembly refers Regulation of Hartal Bill to a select committee

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Assembly on Wednesday referred the Kerala Regulation of Hartal Bill to a select committee chaired by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala.

Mr. Chennithala, who piloted the Bill, withdrew his motion to refer the Bill to Subject Committee and accepted the motion moved by K. Muraleedharan to refer the Bill to Select Committee. Both ruling and Opposition members had wanted deeper deliberations on the Bill and eliciting of public opinion.

The Minister said that the Bill did not propose to ban hartals, but only to bring reasonable restrictions. If the proposed restrictions were unreasonable, it would not stand judicial review. The legislation was being proposed as directed by the Courts and sought to achieve delicate balance between freedoms and controls.

Mr. Chennithala said that the government was not against just agitations. Trade union rights were not being curtailed. But in a modern democracy, the rights of those not joining protests should also be considered.

He recalled that when High Court ordered ban on bandhs, harthals replaced them. For even flimsy reasons, harthals were being called without notice. The organisers, however, had no right to obstruct movement of others.

He noted hartals called by Gandhiji were voluntary protests undertaken in a spirit of self purification. It was used sparingly as a last resort.

Noting that the hartals caused big losses, Mr. Chennithala said that investors should not flee seeing harthals in the State. The Opposition, he said, should not raise unnecessary fears about the Bill. “If we don’t change with times, it will be we who become obsolete.”

Earlier, objecting to introduction of the Bill, A. K. Balan (CPI-M) maintained that the Bill went against fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.  Its enactment would lead to bloody agitations in the streets. E. P. Jayarajan (CPI-M) said that it would suppress rightful protests.

The Opposition also criticised  the Minister for seeking public opinion on the Bill before it was introduced in the House.

Speaker N. Sakthan ruled that the objection that the Bill was unconstitutional was not sustainable. There was nothing in the rules against the Minister seeking opinions on the Bill before introducing it in the House.

Highlights of the Bill:
The Bill seeks to specify that no person, group or organisation shall have a right to call or conduct any hartal without giving three days public notice through the media.

The Bill also seeks to ban enforcement of hartal through force or intimidation. Organisers should not stop, control or otherwise deal with the movement of any person, agency, business or instrumentality by use of force or threat thereof or other means. Besides, they should not obstruct normal functioning of educational and other institutions, businesses and transport vehicles.  Also, they should not cause threat or apprehension or risk to life, liberty or property of any citizen or destruction of life and property or damage to any Government property or disturb public peace and order.

The Bill further seeks to specify that organisers of a hartal shall deposit an amount, as may be prescribed, as the security for payment of compensation for any destruction or damage to property and life caused during a hartal.

The Bills proposes to lay down that the state Government shall, in every reasonable manner, forbid or prevent such behaviour or mode of operation adversely affecting the fundamental rights of members of the public. The Government shall prohibit hartals when they cause stoppage of business or activity essential for the life of the community such as supply of milk and medical services.

The Police, it proposes, should render assistance needed to people to exercise their legal rights. Failure of police and other agencies to provide such assistance will attract a fine of up to Rs. 10000 and the officer concerned will be liable to pay the fine.

The Bill proposes imprisonment for a term of up to six months or a fine of up to ten thousand rupees or both to those who violate the provisions of the law.  The penal provision will cover acts such as forcibly preventing another person from attending his work, visiting a hospital, hotel, educational institution or fuel delivery station or using a transport facility.

Views on the Bill