The CPI(M) on Monday said it was "absurd and beyond rules" the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's warning that absence from duty would invite action, including break in service, if state government employees were unable to report for duty during tomorrow's nationwide general strike. ''We treat the chief minister's warning as an expression of her frustration, as also fear of success of the strike, and we will once again urge all to join the strike,'' CPI(M) leader and leader of the Opposition Suryakanta Mishra said.
Mishra asserted that break in service, as threatened by the chief minister, meant nothing.
"It is absurd and beyond rules. If an employee applies for leave, it has to be granted and government can't refuse it. It is simply undemocratic and unconstitutional."
Alleging that the Trinamool Congress government was out to break the strike, called by 11 central trade unions, by applying force, Mishra said,
''None can intervene to foil the strike and no amount of threat will succeed.''
The CPI(M) leader said that the responsibility for any incident would rest on the state government "and we have already asked our workers not to enforce the strike and leave it up to the masses".
''We have asked our workers not to get provoked and those willing to join the strike are welcome and those not, have the equal right not to join the strike,'' the CPI(M) leader told reporters. He said that the strike had posed a serious challenge to the Mamata Banerjee government "which has become panicky and issued warnings after warnings to its employees".
He pointed out that though Banerjee was now speaking against strike, she herself had sponsored many a strike in the past.
