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'Bring in amendment to negate SC ruling'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI Aug. 21. The CPI leader and AITUC general secretary, Gurudas Dasgupta, today urged the Union Government to bring in a constitutional Amendment to negate the Supreme Court ruling in the Tamil Nadu Government employees dismissal case.

Otherwise, the Centre should move a Constitution Bench. The President could also seek the Supreme Court's opinion on the two-judge bench judgment, Mr. Dasgupta told a press conference here. There were instances, especially in the Shah Bano case, of the Constitution being amended to negate a Supreme Court verdict, he said.

If the Centre did not do any of these, its bona fides would be in doubt — a doubt that it was in collusion with the Tamil Nadu Government's ``subversion of democracy''. The Centre had been conspicuously silent, despite the union repeatedly asking the Labour Ministry to act. ``I interpret this conspicuous silence of the Prime Minister and the Labour Minster as silent support for the actions of the Tamil Nadu Government.''

``Our stand on the apex court ruling has been vindicated by the statements of the jurist, V.R. Krishna Iyer, and the prominent protest by the Attorney-General of India. The Supreme Court had not suggested a remedy for illegal lockouts announced by private managements or governments or for violation of labour laws even by public sector units.

Stating that the unions, for the time being, would not approach the court but would only go ``to the people's court'', Mr. Dasgupta asked the trade unions and the affected employees not to be cowed down and start closing ranks by reorganising themselves to fight back.

The central trade unions would meet in New Delhi on Friday to chalk out an action plan against the ``terror let loose by the Government''. A national conclave would be organised in New Delhi next month to express solidarity with the workers in Tamil Nadu and to protest the Supreme Court judgment, the AITUC leader said.

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