Editorial
It is only a temporary relief
Let the opposition stop calling hartal and govt. create enabling environment
WE welcome the opposition party's desisting from calling a nationwide shutdown for 17 and 18 April in light of the Langal Bandh Snan or Holy Bath. It is a good gesture no doubt but may we add that they should have been also considerate to the lakhs of HSC, O' and A'Level students whose exam schedules have been badly upset by their frequent hartals
They have, however, only postponed it by a few days, having decided in principle to call the same next week, which might even extend to a three-day, non-stop hartal. Thus the relief is only transient. With six countrywide shutdowns having been called already this month, not to mention a a series of district-based hartals, we would call into question the relentless shutdown programmes that the opposition has embarked upon.
Also at their mercy is the fate of the national economy, where growth figures are having to be whittled down. The World Bank has revised the nation's forecast for fiscal 2012-13 down from the government's target of 7.2 percent to 5.8 percent. Having already lost garment export orders of some 300 million USD, the FBCCI has fervently requested the opposition to reconsider their non-cooperation stretegy in light of the dire straits which the industry and overall economy are in. To this, the leader of the opposition has unfortunately responded by claiming that there is no alternative to shutdowns.
They need to think out of the box drawing on their intrinsic strength as a major political party and shun hartal in greater national interest.
At the same time, the government, too, must eschew its strategy of en masse case filing and arrest of most central and some mid-level opposition leaders, not to mention the undignified manner of hauling them away to prison in chains. We would ask for immediate release of all detained leaders. This will not only help to ease the political tension to which the nation has been held hostage for the past several months, but also smoothen the path for political dialogue which is needed as an immediate remedy to the current political impasse.
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