Don't blame hartals if Kerala keeps logging out of life once too often, and don’t blame the Government if people stay indoors during hartals—that happens because Keralites are prone to enjoying self-declared holidays every time a hartal is called. Also, don’t blame hartals for affecting life and property; blame it all on the media blowing small hartal-related incidents out of proportion.

This is the crux of an affidavit that the state Government filed on Friday before the Kerala High Court, claiming it can’t be faulted in the handling of hartals, which the Government pointed out, cannot be acted against since hartals per se were not legally banned.

Kerala has seen some 33 different hartals, both local and statewide, over the past year, most resulting in total shutdown of all actitivity. That is actually an improvement from the past: the state had “observed” 123 hartals in 2003 and one better, 124, the next year, and 119 in 2006.

Besides crippling all activities, virtual bandhs passing off as hartals have also been drastically affecting the state economy. About 61 per cent of Kerala’s GDP comes from the services sector, which is estimated to contribute about Rs 200 crores a day, and is the only sector showing a healthy growth rate of 12 per cent pus. It is the services sector that hartals usually paralyse the most.

The affidavit that Additional Secretary (Home) K J Mathew filed before the HC on Friday was in connection with a PIL moved by a local NGO maintaining that the state had failed to carry out earlier court orders against hartals disrupting life. According to the Government’s affidavit, it does not encourage hartals and always takes all measures to protect life and property.

... contd.