Political parties should just announce normal days of work, not bandhs

The state-wide Karnataka bandh on Saturday, October 6, was preceded on Friday by a rally in Bangalore which saw educational institutions being closed and bus services being affected.

In the Cauvery-basin districts like Mandya, the farmers' associations have been protesting for days, affecting vehicular movement between Bangalore and Mysore. It is anyone's guess if the agitation will slow down or intensify after last weekend's state-wide bandh. Those protesting are no longer prepared to leave it to the experts and attribute political motives.

Former BJP chief minister BS Yeddyurappa (BSY), who keeps threatening to start his own political outfit, recently claimed that the decision of the Cauvery River Authority to release 9,000 cusecs of water a day to Tamil Nadu was because the prime minister needed the support of that state's MPs to ensure the survival of his government. While the DMK is a member of the UPA coalition government, BSY maintained that Manmohan was also trying to get the support of Jayalalithaa's AIADMK MPs.

Meanwhile, across the border, the counter claim is that Tamil Nadu is not getting its fair share of Cauvery water because the Congress is interested in regaining power in Karnataka where assembly elections are due next summer. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are two states divided by a common river.

The worst-affected by the bandhs and rallies are those sections of unorganised labour which need their daily income to survive. All political parties pay lip-service to the poor but do not seem to think of them when calling for bandhs and rallies. Bandhs are not always called for the most logical of reasons. On December 30, 2006, many political parties in Kerala called a bandh to protest the execution of Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi government!