Itanagar, Sep 8 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Mama Natung on Tuesday said that a call for a strike cannot be considered legal, and warned that the law would take its course against those resorting to such practice.
When the matter of frequent calls for bandhs disrupting normal life in the state was raised by Congress MLA Kumar Waii during Zero-Hour discussions in the Assembly, the minister said the Supreme Court held in 1997 that there was no legal right to call or enforce a bandh when it interferes with the fundamental rights of others.
Natung said frequent calls for bandhs were a matter of concern as they affected normal life and could also discourage companies from operating in the state.
“Peace is the prerequisite for development,” he said, adding that some companies involved in development activities, such as National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd, were keeping their offices outside Arunachal Pradesh because of frequent disruptions.
The Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2014, provides for the prevention of certain unlawful activities, and specifically covers bandh enforced through intimidation, psychological fear or threat, along with disruption of essential services and damage to public or private property.
Natung added that the Arunachal Pradesh Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 2020, was enacted to deal with damage to property and recovery of losses. “If any union gives an illegal call for bandh, the law will take its course,” the minister said.
He said the present government stood for accountability, transparency, reform, transform and perform, and maintained that it was always ready to hear the grievances of unions and organisations and make efforts to resolve them.
He referred to the recent consultations with stakeholders, including the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union, ST Bachao Andolan Committee and Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum, saying the government had been engaging with organisations to address their concerns.
A high-level consultative meeting involving these groups was held on May 27 and May 29, during which the government decided to constitute four high-powered committees on APST certificate re-verification, the non-APST offspring issue, strengthening the Inner Line Permit system and reviewing the ILP Guidelines 2026, besides concerns over infiltration.
Natung said the number of bandh calls had reduced significantly, and appealed to all to discourage the practice.
Raising the issue in the House, Waii said unrecognised unions were calling for bandhs even over petty issues, causing considerable hardship to the common people.
The government should take the matter seriously and make efforts to address the grievances of such organisations before they turn into bandh calls, he said.
Waii alleged that some unrecognised unions were using bandh calls to put pressure on the government and claimed that crores of rupees were sometimes paid to persuade them to withdraw such calls. “This culture should be stopped,” he said. PTI UPL UPL NSD
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