Kolkata: Opposing the Supreme Court verdict against employees' right to strike, veteran Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPM) leader Jyoti Basu on September 10 said it was the ultimate weapon of the working class for which "we are prepared to suffer imprisonment, if necessary".

"The strike is the ultimate weapon of the workers. We can't accept the Supreme Court verdict. If necessary, we are ready to go to jail," Basu told a meeting of Group 'D' employees at the Writers' Buildings, the state Secretariat.

The octogenarian Marxist leader said that Supreme Court had delivered important judgements in the past, but the one on employees' right to strike could not be accepted. "If trade unions give up their ultimate weapon, it will be dangerous for the cause of the working class."

The former Chief Minister urged employees not to give up their movement for genuine causes.

Basu was critical of the way in which the Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu handled the strike by state government employees in dismissing 1.7 lakh of them.

PTI