The Uttar Pradesh government issued a notification saying that even after the enactment of the ESMA Act, if any employee is found going on strike or protesting, then the strikers will be arrested without warrant on charges of violating the Act.
Amid the agitation by farmers in Punjab and Haryana, the Uttar Pradesh government has banned strikes in the state for six months. This rule will be applicable to government departments, corporations and authorities under the state government.
Additional Chief Secretary Karmish Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi has issued a notification in this regard. It has been said in this notification that even after the enactment of ESMA Act, if any employee is found going on strike or protesting, then the strikers will be arrested without warrant on charges of violating the Act.
Let us tell you that the UP government has already given a similar decision. The state government had also banned strikes for six months in 2023. At that time, the employees of the electricity department had gone on strike, due to which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had banned the strike for six months.
What is ESMA?
ESMA i.e. Essential Services Management Act is used when employees go on strike. This law is used to stop strikes. The special thing is that this law can be imposed for a maximum of six months.
Then why have the farmers taken to the streets?
Farmers have once again taken to the streets demanding legal guarantee on MSP along with many other demands. Farmer organizations had called for Delhi Chalo March on 13 February. But the police has stopped the farmers at the Punjab and Haryana border.
Before this, there was a farmer movement in the country for more than a year regarding the three agricultural laws of the Central Government. This movement started from 26 November 2020. At that time, farmers from many states including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh were standing on the borders of Delhi.
The farmers were adamant on the withdrawal of all three agricultural laws. Last year, on November 19, 2021, after a year-long movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the withdrawal of all three laws. These three laws have now been withdrawn.
After the withdrawal of all three laws, the farmers had also announced to end the movement. However, the United Kisan Morcha had said that they have more demands and if they are not met then they will protest again.
