I am rewriting this post of mine, as partial sense is restored as some of the striking Oil India employees
call off their strike. The truckers, of course, are still at it.
Let us, for the sake of argument, say that all the demands of the truckers and the Oil Company officers are valid. Even so, it cannot be admissible by any stretch of imagination that these people
hold a billion people to ransom, bringing not only industry, but daily commuting and livelihood to a halt.
Prices are up, commuters are stranded, people are insecure.
When the terrorists struck Mumbai, the city and the country as a whole, felt a tremor of insecurity - wondering if people would be safe on the streets.
Today, we feel trepidation about our everyday bread and fuel.
If another country had taken such action as to bring the economy and communication of this country to a halt, it would be construed as an act of war. If a set of so-called ‘
non state actors’ attacks our country, we call it terrorism. Reading the two together, an act of war perpetrated by 'non state actors' on ordinary citizens is an act of terror. That makes these 'strikers' terrorists.
Are our 'leaders' ready to pull their fingers out and act?
The so-called
ESMA is not enough. Will the new
UAPA be applicable?
If there are no laws in this land to act upon in such an emergency, is the government fit to govern?
Even if the oil company officers come back to work, they must be prosecuted to the utmost limit that the law permits. There was this disembodied voice on TV, who claimed that they had 'repaid manyfold,' the public investment in the oil companies. This person seemed to think that this was somehow due to his personal ability!
Please remember, if it is public money that went into it, the citizens of this nation deserves returns on it. It is not the 'officers' who made the profits - it is the nature of the product. Their inefficiency and inhumanity is seen everyday at LPG and kerosene outlets. So, if not returns, we at least deserve dependable supplies.
This is what comes from pandering to unions and groups. We must stand up and ask why they continue to terrorise us. We should ask, is this really independent action, when the nation is reeling from the global recession? Why should we not suspect enemy action? This is a strike against the nation. We need to see justice done, punishment meted out - remember, these people are among the highest paid employees in the public sector...
These same rules should apply to the transport industry too, which is forcing the nation to lose thousands of crores through their actions....
Anyone who reads this should, as a responsible citizen, ask these questions to their MLAs and MPs. It is only the common man who has no association to protect him.
Call, write, SMS, email your representative - then, and then only will they see that it may affect their chairs of power, which they owe to us. Any negotiation can wait until after this militant action has been put down - and firmly...
Are you listening, Mr Prime Minister?