Life limped back to normal in the State as the intensity of the 48-hour national strike waned late Tuesday.
Wayside eateries and restaurants hesitantly opened for business as the forceful strike by the Congress and left trade unions against the Centre's labour policy edged to a close at midnight.
A spattering of autorickshaws, cars and two-wheelers took to the roads warily, despite forbidding television reports of strike supporters challenging motorists, turning back employees from their workplaces, closing shops, disrupting private banking and movement of freight and deflating tyres of taxis, trucks and transport buses.
Notably, the damning High Court order forbidding State employees from boycotting work had a scant impact, with attendance remaining minimal in State and private offices across the State for the second straight day.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan urged State employees to strike despite the threat of dies non. He alleged that the court had spoken in the voice of dark authoritarian powers who clamped "Emergency" on the country. India had won its freedom through non-cooperation and strikes.
The colonial court had struck a similar anti-people position during British rule. The judiciary should not emulate its colonial predecessor. It should not rob workers of the right to agitate for legitimate causes.
Mr. Balakrishnan pointed out that even Supreme Court judges had struck work to preserve their rights and independence. The judiciary should extend the same prerogative to labourers. The strike was a mustering of people against the anti-labour and pro-rich policies of the BJP government at the Centre. It was also a rally against inflation, spiraling fuel prices, and rising cost of living.
The Congress leaders refrained from condemning the strike. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the sole voice of dissent. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan damned the strike as a government-sponsored infringement on the people's right to life.
Meanwhile, minor incidents of violence marred the second day of the industrial action. CPI(M) legislator from Devikulam A. Raja sustained a few bruises when he intervened to settle a brawl between the police and strike supporters in Idukki.
In several districts, traders and strike supporters exchanged harsh words over the opening of shops. Various trader organisations said the trade unionists had allowed business at malls. At the same time, they target small-time traders and family-run shops. The KSRTC conducted skeletal operations.
The strike saw the State divided over "self-defeating" lockdowns that hobbled the State's struggle to clamber out of the economic gloom caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many felt the 48-hour strike had tested citizens' patience to the limit. It had cost people at least two wage days and impacted several vital sectors, especially tourism.
