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Strike against reforms shuts trains in India
Source: Agencies |
September 21, 2012, Friday
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ANGRY demonstrators disrupted trains and forced some shops and schools to close yesterday in a national strike protesting a government decision to cut fuel subsidies and open India's huge retail market to foreign companies.
Political backlash against the economic reform package presented by the Cabinet last week has left Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition scrambling to shore up its support and prevent early elections.
Some government allies have joined opposition parties in supporting the protests, which closed many schools and kept commercial trucks off the roads. In some states, such as opposition-ruled Gujarat, the strike was widely followed. In other regions, including the main cities of New Delhi and Mumbai, the impact of the protests was scattered.
Nevertheless, the Confederation of Indian Industry estimated the country might have lost as much as US$2.3 billion in production and trade.
Many of the protests in Uttar Pradesh state were led by the Samajwadi Party, which has been supporting the government from outside the fragile ruling coalition. The party, which has been extremely critical of the reform package, postponed a meeting it had called for yesterday evening to determine its next step.
Top ministers downplayed any talk of a teetering government.
"We have enough friends today, we had enough friends yesterday ... so I don't see any reason why you should doubt our stability," Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters.
In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, protesters blocked railroad tracks. Some burned an effigy of Singh on the tracks, while others carried signs reading "Go Back Wal-Mart," a reference to the US retail giant expected to enter the Indian market under the new regulations.
The region of Jammu, an opposition stronghold, was mostly shut. In central Delhi, thousands joined protests demanding the government back down.
In a bit of street theater common to Indian demonstrations, about 2,000 people in Delhi marched to a police station and demanded to be detained. Among those who got themselves arrested was Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who walked into the station surrounded by his government-provided security detail.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid said the protesters were only hurting the economy they claimed to be defending.
"I think they've shown their point, they've given their point of view, they've shown their protest," he said. "Now let us get back to work, back to our factories, back to our shops, back to our offices, schools and colleges."
Singh stunned the country with last week's raft of reforms. The government announced a reduction in massive subsidies for diesel fuel and cooking gas. It also opened up the country's retail sector to foreign competitors, allowed local airlines to sell stakes to foreign carriers and pledged to sell off chunks of four state-run companies.
Political backlash against the economic reform package presented by the Cabinet last week has left Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition scrambling to shore up its support and prevent early elections.
Some government allies have joined opposition parties in supporting the protests, which closed many schools and kept commercial trucks off the roads. In some states, such as opposition-ruled Gujarat, the strike was widely followed. In other regions, including the main cities of New Delhi and Mumbai, the impact of the protests was scattered.
Nevertheless, the Confederation of Indian Industry estimated the country might have lost as much as US$2.3 billion in production and trade.
Many of the protests in Uttar Pradesh state were led by the Samajwadi Party, which has been supporting the government from outside the fragile ruling coalition. The party, which has been extremely critical of the reform package, postponed a meeting it had called for yesterday evening to determine its next step.
Top ministers downplayed any talk of a teetering government.
"We have enough friends today, we had enough friends yesterday ... so I don't see any reason why you should doubt our stability," Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters.
In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, protesters blocked railroad tracks. Some burned an effigy of Singh on the tracks, while others carried signs reading "Go Back Wal-Mart," a reference to the US retail giant expected to enter the Indian market under the new regulations.
The region of Jammu, an opposition stronghold, was mostly shut. In central Delhi, thousands joined protests demanding the government back down.
In a bit of street theater common to Indian demonstrations, about 2,000 people in Delhi marched to a police station and demanded to be detained. Among those who got themselves arrested was Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who walked into the station surrounded by his government-provided security detail.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid said the protesters were only hurting the economy they claimed to be defending.
"I think they've shown their point, they've given their point of view, they've shown their protest," he said. "Now let us get back to work, back to our factories, back to our shops, back to our offices, schools and colleges."
Singh stunned the country with last week's raft of reforms. The government announced a reduction in massive subsidies for diesel fuel and cooking gas. It also opened up the country's retail sector to foreign competitors, allowed local airlines to sell stakes to foreign carriers and pledged to sell off chunks of four state-run companies.
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