Though the all India general strike called by the trade unions in the country on Wednesday did not have any major impact in Tamil Nadu, the legislative Assembly saw the Opposition raising the issue and demanding that the AIADMK Government adopt a resolution expressing solidarity with the striking workers all over the country. Members of the CPI(M), CPI, Congress and MMK came to the House armed with banners terming the Union Government "corrupt, communal and run by the corporates".
Speaker P Dhanapal, who allowed the members of the Opposition to speak about the strike, expressed his displeasure in the way they displayed notices and banners inside the House. "What you are doing is against the dignity and decorum of the House. This cannot be allowed," said the Speaker.
While the DMK members chose to be in the House, the others led by the CPI(M) staged a walkout. later they tried to stop the traffic in front of Fort Saint George (Secretariat) which was prevented by the Police. The MlAs continued raising anti-BJP and anti-Narendra Modi slogans.
A Soundararajan, the CPI(M) MlA said his party and others were trying to disrupt traffic to draw the attention of the general public towards the "anti-people acts of the corrupt and communal BJP Government". "We want the police to arrest us, but they are ignoring us," said Sounderrajan irritated over the inaction of the police. Interestingly the camaraderie between the left and the Congress stood out in the protest march, giving enough hopes of the revival of a Congress-CPI(M)-CPI alliance in Tamil Nadu.
Elsewhere in the State normal life went on smoothly despite the dawn-to-dusk general strike call against the BJP Government’s anti-people policies. However, the banking sector bore the brunt of the agitation as many employees opted to stay out.