Strike out

A strike is always a holiday in Bengal, no matter who calls it. So there was no surprise that people responded with enthusiasm to the Left-sponsored industrial strike. But ahead of it, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had warned state government employees of dire consequences if they didn’t show up for work. Now, Banerjee has asked her administration to compile a list of absentees on that day to take action against them. But there’s a problem: the attendance sheet for February 28 has mysteriously gone missing in some departments. Perhaps Banerjee will realise that in challenging the Left-sponsored general strike, she has ended up challenging the work-shy nature of her employees.