This happened following the intervention of the chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, who criticised the Left for being “irresponsible” but acquiesced to their demand to reschedule the examination on 29 February.
The chief minister said: “I called up Bratya (Basu) and instructed him to reschedule the examination in the interest of the Madhyamik examinees because they are in uncertainty. It is not that we want to enjoy a holiday. We wanted to avoid any untoward incident. We cannot be irresponsible (like the Left).”
A controversy had been brewing after the Left trade union leaders were adamant about the strike call on 28 February and requested the chief minister to reschedule the examinations.
Miss Banerjee was critical of the Left decision to give a strike call. “We are the ones who are opposing the Pension Bill, FDI in retail and hike in fuel prices. Why are they resorting to bandhs at a time when the economic situation is quite bad? Another day would be lost. All these steps would result on more taxes on the people. They could have raised these issues in the Parliament or held protest meetings,” she added.
She also pointed out that her party has refrained from giving a single strike call in the past three years.
However, the trade unions are welcoming the state's decision. According to them, it is not the first time that an exam date is getting altered. In the past, there had been many occasions when exam dates had to be either advanced or postponed. Since, the strike is a central one, changing the date was not feasible, said a veteran trade union leader.
statesman news service
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