Trade union labour code strike: Shashi Tharoor slams shutdown in Kerala, calls it 'organised tyranny'

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday criticised the total shutdown in Kerala as part of the nationwide strike observed by trade unions against the Centre's labour codes, calling it a "lamentable irony" that turned into a mere "Kerala Bandh".

In a post on X, Tharoor said that while the rest of India has evolved beyond such coercive disruptions, Kerala remains uniquely held hostage by this organised tyranny of the 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, the leader of the opposition in the Kerala assembly, VD Satheesan, also asked the public to discuss 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.

According to the Congress MP, the people in Kerala have driven industry away with our militant unionism; now, by clinging to these antediluvian methods of "muscle power" that forcefully confine citizens as prisoners in their own homes, and oblige shopkeepers to down their shutters, ensuring the state remains unwelcoming to 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," he said.

Tharoor said that Kerala's reputation has suffered enough from militant unionism that extends beyond factory floors to our very streets 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"We cannot aspire to be a modern, investor-friendly destination while adhering to outdated forms of agitation that the rest of the world - and indeed, the rest of India - has discarded," Tharoor added.

Let us respect the right to dissent, but let us also fiercely 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 are also part of the nationwide strike, the party and the UDF continued with their state-wide rally on Thursday as part of the upcoming election in Kerala, which drew sharp criticism from Left-affiliated workers' bodies and leaders.

On the other hand, the LDF development rally has been suspended for a day following the strike, after leaders announced their support for trade unions.