(Top) CPM flags aflutter in Calcutta on Monday to tell people the party wants them to work. The same flag (bottom) on September 29, 2005, to announce a ‘total shutdown’

Calcutta, Oct. 9: The red flag’s meaning keeps changing — one day it means stop, another day it means start.

On September 29, 2005, red flags flew across Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s Bengal signalling a total shutdown. Citu, the CPM’s labour wing, had called the all-India strike against reforms initiated by the Manmohan Singh government.

As the city was thrown into another bandh — called by the Trinamul Congress — the same flags fluttered.

But they were to oppose the shutdown and ensure normal life and business.

“We told the bank officer to keep the branch open…. He was a bit scared about the bandh supporters, but we stood guard next to the bank and it was open,” said Mohammad Sayeed, a Citu member and time-keeper at a bus terminus for route No. 240.

Only a handful of customers stepped in, but thanks to Citu members, operations were smooth at the public sector bank about 50 meters from the terminus, despite the 12-hour bandh.

Out of the 43 buses at the terminus, 38 are plying, claimed Sayeed at his workstation — a 4x6 ft wooden room — since 5.30 in the morning to ensure a normal roster.

But the city streets wore a deserted look and shops kept shutters down till dusk.

Most business establishments remained open and in Sector V, Salt Lake, it was business as usual with IT and ITES companies recording near 90 per cent attendance.

On September 29, attendance at the state’s IT hub had plummeted below 10 per cent as Citu supporters blocked entry points to the tech town.

The paralytic strike brought Calcutta to a grinding halt and even chief minister’s wife Mira Bhattacharjee was stopped on her way to work.

“It was an all-India general strike and the issues were far more serious, unlike today’s irrational bandh. I came from Sonarpur early in the morning to make our strike successful,” recounted Adhir Sardar, a bus driver, who stopped buses that day.

His leaders had a different mandate for him on Monday.

So, accompanied by his comrades, he tried to ensure no disruption to normal life and business. The cadre did their job to perfection.

“Data from CESC and the state electricity board suggest that there was hardly any fall in demand for power, which means industrial production did not suffer. Today’s bandh was completely rejected by the working class,” claimed Shyamal Chakraborty, Citu’s state president.

But Chakraborty is convinced that the working class will force a repeat of September 29, 2005, again on December 14 by making the general strike called by Left trade unions a success.

“Issues are important, not the party that is calling a bandh. The general strike is against privatisation and anti-labour laws and people will support our cause,” he said.

Besides reaching out to the man on the road with its message, the CPM labour arm will also have to resolve the issue of exempting IT and ITES from the purview of the December 14 strike.

Citu is aware of Bhattacharjee’s opposition to any ceasework in these sectors.

“We can’t comment about it at this point. We will declare the exempted sectors 48 hours before the strike,” said Chakraborty.

Till then, Sayeed and Sardar will have to wait to figure out their role for December 14.