The Centre has been forced to withdraw a notification that sought to bring about stricter norms for subscribers withdrawing money from the Employees’ PF. The notification proved so unpopular that it snowballed into mindless vandalising of property in Bengaluru. The law and order situation deteriorated so rapidly on the second day of the strike that the Union minister for labour and employment had to respond quickly to help contain the outbreak of resentment against unpopular measures.
The Bengaluru riots were an extreme representation of the frustration creeping in on wage earners and the middle class at being unfairly targeted as easy prey. The Karnataka police authorities were left wondering who was behind the rioting as the garment workers seemed not to have been prompted beyond peaceful demonstrations. The underlying ill feelings against the government for discriminating in making strict rules for the working class while letting the rich have their way was brought out by the attempt to regulate the EPF. The exposes in the Panama Papers highlighted what could happen at the other end of the financial spectrum.
The government had earlier backtracked on how the EPF funds would be regulated. It beat a hasty retreat from a draconian proposal to tax 60 per cent of the withdrawals. The playing out of the angst of the working classes in the face of rising prices and unyielding tax demands is a significant development the government has to take into account in dealing with a vast section of the population.
