Belgaum, December 5: To curb illegal strikes and ensure delivery of essential services to the people, the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed the Karnataka Essential Services Maintenance Bill, 2013.
Members of the principal Opposition Janata Dal (Secular) opposed the Bill and staged a walk out in the House. It termed the Bill “dangerous and aimed at misusing the powers by the police.”
The Bill envisages prohibition of refusal to work in certain essential services connected with production, generation, storage, transmission, supply or distribution of water, electricity, transport services for the carriage of passengers or goods by motor vehicles and any other service.
Following suggestions from the Centre, the government withdrawn the Karnataka Essential Services Maintenance Bill, 2009, passed by the legislature during the previous BJP regime.
Explaining the features of the new Bill, Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy said under the new legislation any police officer may arrest without warrant any person who is reasonably suspected of having committed any offence and come in the way of delivery of essential services.
All offences under the Act would be non-bailable, he said.
He said any person who instigates or incites any other person to take part in acts in furtherance of strike which is illegal under the Act in any essential service be punished with imprisonment for a year or with fine up to Rs 5,000 or with both.
The Act also imposed penalty for giving financial aid to illegal strike. The penalty included imprisonment for a year or fine of Rs. 5,000 or both, Mr Reddy said.
Mr Reddy said that Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa have already been implementing the law to curb illegal strikes.
Leader of the Opposition H D Kumaraswamy, BJP floor leader and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, K G Bopaiah (all BJP), former Chief Minister and KJP leader B S Yeddyurappa, M T Krishnappa, N Cheluvarayaswamy, K M Shivalinge Gowda (all JD-S), Ramesh Kumar of the Congress and P Rajeev of the BSR Congress strongly opposed the Bill in the present form.
Mr Krishnappa of the JD (S) torn the Bill in the House and said the government has decided to curb employees’ right to strike. The Bill is against the provision of the constitution and spirit of the democracy, he said.
Mr Ramesh Kumar and Mr Shettar demanded withdrawal of the Bill in the present form. The present Bill would give undue power to the police and they would misuse the law, they said.
Mr Kumar said “the Bill is anti-labour” and appealed to the Minister to withdraw it.
Despite several members’ opposition, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra and Mr Ramalinga Reddy defended the Bill stating it would act as a deterrent for employees before calling strikes that disrupt essential services.
