Thiruvananthapuram: Popular discontent with shutdown strikes reflects in the reactions on the Facebook wall of home minister Ramesh Chennithala. Thousands of netizens have hailed the government’s plans for a Bill to regulate hartals while a few remained skeptical.
A vast majority of the respondents wanted to restrict hartals, but there are a few, including labour minister Shibu Baby John, opposed to regulating genuine protests. They too want restrictions on hartals over non-issues and more stringent legal action against the forcible closure of shops.
According to the home minister's office, close to 22 lakh people visited the post on www.facebook.com/rameshchennithala. The number of likes, comments and shares comes to 81,170. Some had even sought a law to regulate demonstrations blocking the traffic on roads. “The response motivates me to take further steps,” said the minister.
