Tripura cancelling May 1 as public holiday evokes condemnation

The Tripura government's decision to cancel May 1 as a public holiday has evoked widespread condemnation in the state.

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions' (CITU) Tripura unit said on Monday that it will lodge a complaint with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for cancelling the holiday that marks International Labour Day or "May Day".

"The first Left Front government in Tripura in 1978 announced that May 1 will be marked a paid public holiday. But the BJP government cancelled the holiday without giving any reason," the unit's Secretary and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Lok Sabha member Sankar Prasad Datta told the media.

Datta said that the CITU had lodged a complaint with the ILO for obstructing holding of programmes in Tripura in connection with "May Day" this year.

On Saturday the government issued the list of government holidays for 2019. According to the notification, "May Day" will now be treated as a "restricted holiday".

The opposition Congress has also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government's decision, saying it was against the interest of the labour and working class people.

"'May Day' programme is not a political affair, this is an international event. We strongly condemn the decision," party leader Tapas Dey told the media.

BJP affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) supported the government decision, saying it follows the Indian culture and civility and hence it does not follow "May Day."

--IANS

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