US embassy cable - 04CALCUTTA445

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CALCUTTA 000445 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND EB 
COMMERCE FOR U/S JUSTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, EINV, ECON, ELAB, AMGT, IN, Indian Domestic Politics 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION STRIKES IN WEST BENGAL LEAVE GOVERNMENT 
RED-FACED 
 
REF: A) NEW DELHI 007211 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  In the coming three weeks, starting on November 
17, West Bengal will witness three general strikes planned by 
different political parties protesting the recent hike in 
petroleum prices by the central government.  West Bengal's Left 
Front government, eager to establish its business-friendly 
image, is not supporting these actions, but nor has it 
energetically and vociferously opposed them, probably due to its 
own extensive past use of this tactic.  However, until the 
culture of protest declines in West Bengal this will remain a 
hindrance to productivity and a disincentive for investors.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2.  Three political groups in West Bengal have seized the issue 
of energy price hikes to grasp the spotlight on the state's 
political stage.  The result:  Three days of likely disruption 
of civic life.  The political groups come from across the 
ideological spectrum, but all are opposed to West Bengal's 
ruling Left Front Government.  These actions have nothing to do 
with how difficult social and economic choices are made in the 
face of rising global oil prices and everything to do with 
seizing a political issue that may inspire populist support. 
The Socialist Unity Center of India (SUCI), a regional party, is 
organizing the first general strike - bandh in local parlance -- 
on November 17.  The SUCI -- not part of West Bengal's ruling 
Left Front -- has organized movements against the state and 
central governments in the past. 
 
3.  The second general strike, organized by the ultra-Left 
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) [CPI-ML], will 
follow on November 22.  Finally, West Bengal's main opposition 
party, the centrist Trinamul Congress (TMC), is organizing the 
third bandh on December 3.  TMC officials privately admit there 
had been some dissension within the party -- between TMC-backed 
elected representatives and its party managers -- over whether 
they should add their voices to this chorus of protest, but the 
bandh supporters eventually carried the day. 
 
4.  West Bengal has a long history of organizing strikes.  All 
political parties have used these as a weapon of mass political 
action that leads to the loss of working days and substantial 
economic losses.  Ironically, it is the CPM - the dominant Left 
Front member - that has the worst track record in organizing 
strikes, whether in government or out of it.  By backing violent 
and disruptive political action - either on its own or through 
its affiliated labor organizations - the CPM is itself largely 
responsible for the image of delinquency that West Bengal has 
acquired in India's corporate and administrative circles. 
 
5.  No matter who organizes them, the legacy of general strikes 
is now hurting West Bengal's economy and the Left Front 
government has recognized this.  Chief Minister Buddhadeb 
Bhattacharjee and his team are eager to attract domestic and 
foreign investment to pull the state out of three decades of 
industrial decline.  The state government has just started to 
attract large IT companies to Calcutta.  In an effort to have 
the bandhs disrupt as little as possible, the West Bengal 
political and administrative leadership are taking modest 
actions to ensure that Calcutta is not overly affected by the 
strikes.  For the IT industry, with call centers reliant on 
24-hour coverage, there is supposed to be an amnesty as it has 
been declared an "essential service."   For government 
employees, the Calcutta High Court has directed that the state 
government deduct a day's pay if its employees do not report for 
duty on the day of the strike without a satisfactory reason. 
The state government will risk contempt of court if it tries to 
soft-pedal anti-strike measures.  Nonetheless, the government 
has not spoken out clearly and loudly against this tactic and, 
in the past at least, it has not used the police to prevent 
coercive action by the strikers. 
 
6.  Media surveys over the past two days have revealed that 
Calcutta's citizens are not in favor of losing three working 
days in a span of three weeks.  But such surveys also indicate 
that people are frightened of the possibility of violence and 
that factor, more than any support of the cause, may force many 
to stay indoors.  The reality of past violent action to enforce 
work stoppages, although rare in recent times, makes this a 
reasonable fear. 
 
7.  For our part, the U.S. Consulate will remain open for 
business during all three bandhs.  Employees are strongly 
encouraged to come to work, but those who fear for their 
personal safety are granted permission to stay at home.  They 
will be charged for a day of annual leave in that case. 
 
8.  COMMENT:  The West Bengal Government is trying hard to sell 
Calcutta as a preferred investment destination, especially for 
information technology.  In our discussions with the state 
government - most recently during Commerce Under Secretary 
Kenneth Juster's visit -- we have encouraged the Left Front to 
dissociate itself from the politics of disruption so as to win 
investor confidence and build a business-friendly image.  We 
have pointed out that West Bengal is in a global competition for 
capital and that investors will be put off by the lost 
productivity inherent in the state's culture of protest.  There 
are clearly signs that the state government is attempting to 
maintain a degree of normalcy on these occasions, but a more 
robust effort is needed to assuage investors' concerns. 
Otherwise, West Bengal and its rulers will continue to be 
saddled with image problems of their own making.  END COMMENT. 
 
SIBLEY