The Kerala High Court has rebuked both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) for organizing a lightning hartal in Wayanad district on November 19, 2024, which it deemed irresponsible and anti-people. The court’s comments came while hearing a suo moto case about the landslides that devastated Wayanad on July 30, 2024, during the monsoon.
The hartal, called to protest the alleged lack of disaster relief from the Union government, disrupted daily life in the region, causing severe inconvenience to the people. The Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, led by Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and KBS. Rajendran, criticized both political fronts for using hartals as a tool of protest without considering the harm they inflict on the public.
The court observed, ‘We can understand if the strike was announced with 15 days notice, but this was a lightning hartal’. The court also referred to previous orders issued in 2018 and 2019, which had warned against hartals, specifically calling for better governance and addressing public grievances through more constructive means. The court added, ‘Hartals are sometimes wielded against the denial of justice, but the judiciary is keenly watching the rehabilitation and reconstruction activities. There is no justification for it now’.
The controversy stems from the state government’s claim that the Union government had not provided adequate aid for the disaster relief efforts in Wayanad. In response, the Kerala High Court noted that while the state had requested Rs 1000 crore in aid through the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), the report had only reached the Union government on November 13.
However, the Union government clarified in its submission that it was actively considering the allocation of Rs 2,219.033 crore in aid, with the needful actions to be taken in accordance with the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) guidelines. The government also pointed out that Rs 153.467 crore had already been allocated for the state’s immediate needs.
However, the court raised concerns about the timing and motives behind the hartal, which was called just after the recent by-elections, suggesting that it was more about political maneuvering than genuine concern for the people. The court remarked, “This is blatant injustice to the people. Both the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF have joined hands to push the people into disaster’.
Further, the court expressed frustration at the continued use of hartals as a political tool in the state, questioning their effectiveness. “What is the benefit from a hartal, except for inconvenience to the people? People cannot lead their routine lives or work for their daily bread. Which is the actual calamity- the natural disaster or this hartal?
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