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Delhi, July 25: Labour unrest at a foreign company snowballed
into a brutal battle between police and hundreds of workers
at the nerve centre of India’s new economy on the outskirts
of the capital, prompting a scramble by Sonia Gandhi to
defuse the crisis that has touched a raw nerve in the Left.
As many as 800 workers of Honda Motorcycles and Scooters
India, the Japanese company that struck out on its own after
a partnership with Hero Honda, were baton-charged today after
they ringed the mini-secretariat in Gurgaon to protest police
action earlier in the day to break a highway blockade.
An agitation has been going on at the Honda plant for
reinstatement of suspended and dismissed workers, some of
them leaders of a union yet to be registered.
Union leaders alleged that at least 12 workers were killed
but officials refused to confirm any death. In a Gurgaon
hospital where scores of the wounded have been admitted, a
body lay with injury marks. Hospital authorities said they
were not sure if the deceased was among those baton-charged.
Witnesses said policemen pinned down some protesters against
iron railings and beat them. The blows also rained on people
spreadeagled on the ground.
“I have never seen such police brutality and I would not like
to witness it again. You can compare it with Jallianwala Bagh,”
said Surajbhan Singh, a witness.
Production at the company in Gurgaon — a favourite
destination for automobile and infotech companies — had
virtually come to a halt after the workers’ agitation.
The sensitive issues involved — a foreign company and
dismissals — and the fact that the Left has zeroed in on the
event compelled Congress chief Sonia, whose party is in power
in Haryana where Gurgaon is situated, to reprimand chief
minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. She asked Hooda, camping in
Delhi, to rush to Gurgaon.
Apprehending trouble from the Left and an uproar in
Parliament, the Congress issued a statement saying Sonia had
“directed the chief minister to order an inquiry immediately
and take action against whoever may be responsible.” The
Prime Minister also expressed “deep anguish and concern”.
But the Left has smelt blood. The CPI deputy leader in the
Lok Sabha, Gurudas Dasgupta, was among the first leaders to
reach Gurgaon as the Honda workers are affiliated to his
union, the Aituc.
“The workers were beaten up brutally in front of my eyes. I
myself was manhandled by the police despite showing them my
Lok Sabha MP card,” said Dasgupta.
CPM politburo member Brinda Karat will reach the site
tomorrow.
Describing the incident as unfortunate, an official of Honda
said the suspended employees could not be taken back till a
third-party inquiry is completed. The Japanese company, whose
no-competition deal with Hero Honda is nearing its end, has
2,500 employees and can make as many bikes a day.
Gurgaon, July 25: Excessive force used by the police to stop
a 1000-strong workers’ protest turned Gurgaon into a
battleground today. At least 400 people — including over 350
protestors — were injured. The condition of some are serious.
Unconfirmed reports say that the figure could be higher.
Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has ordered Gurgaon
Divisional Commissioner Avtar Singh to begin a probe. Around
70 people were arrested for rioting and arson and another 300
rounded up as a preventive action.
The trouble began when a procession was taken out by workers
of a Honda factory at Manesar from Kamla Nehru Park at 11 am.
The crowd was intercepted by a police team, led by the
Gurgaon Sub-Divisional Magistrate, J.S. Sangwan, and Deputy
Superintendent of Police Jagpravesh Dahiya, near the Kalyani
Hospital on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road.
When asked to call off the procession, the protestors turned
violent and attacked the officers. They set the SDM’s jeep
and a police motorcycle on fire and damaged other vehicles
parked nearby.
The SDM, DSP, and Inspector Ravinder Kumar were also
assaulted by the mob. While an outnumbered police force ran
for cover, the protestors went on a rampage through MG Road,
damaging buildings and vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Gurgaon administration called for help from
the neighbouring districts.
Within an hour, the protestors reached Gurgaon’s Mini
Secretariat on the Delhi-Jaipur highway.
It was here that the police turned on the protestors with a
lathicharge lasted 45 minutes.
CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta, who visited the Mini Secretariat in
the evening, condemned the attack and said the matter would
be raised in Parliament. Dasgupta alleged that he was
manhandled by the police when he went to the General
Hospital. Gurgaon SSP Y S Nehra, however, denied this. ‘‘The
MP was trying to take away some of the arrested protestors
from the hospital and was restrained.”
Addressing the media later, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner
Sudhir Rajpal said: ‘‘The administration was neither informed
about the procession nor was any permission sought. When it
became abundantly clear that their intentions were not of a
peaceful protest, we had to take action.’’
The dispute between the workers and the management of Honda
Scooters is over action taken against 54 employees, of whom
four have been dismissed and 50 suspended, said Rajpal.
‘‘We have tried everything to get both sides to reach a
solution,’’ Rajpal said. ‘‘Also, what is the justification in
targeting government machinery when the dispute is between
the management and the workers,’’ he added.
On July 23, protestors had blocked the National Highway 8.
Sources said police had registered cases against some union
leaders, which reportedly caused a lot of anguish among the
protestors and is believed to be one of the reasons that
precipitated today’s crisis.
Unfortunate, but employees will be reinstated only after
probe: Honda
Honda motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) today said it will
not reinstate any of its suspended workers without completion
of an inquiry.
‘‘Even though today’s incident is unfortunate, we cannot take
back any of the suspended employees till a third-party
inquiry against them is completed,’’ said a company official
from its factory in Manesar. The company had been in the grip
of a major labour unrest for over a month now.
The official refused to comment on the clash, saying, ‘‘this
is an event that has taken place outside our factory
premises.’’ Asked whether the firm was ready to provide
financial assistance to those injured, he said it could be
considered in case a specific request came in.
The unrest has seen the company, a fully-owned subsidiary of
Japan’s auto major Honda Motor Co., suffer huge losses due to
production being scaled back. A company official told Reuters
that production had suffered after workers decided to “go
slow” from May.
“We have suffered a loss of Rs 2.5 billion,” he said. HMSI,
which has more than 2,000 workers on its rolls, used to
produce an average of 2,000 scooters and motors but the
number fell to 400 units a day during May and June because of
the agitation, the official said. The company currently makes
1,000 units a day, he added.
Company workers had gone on a strike demanding higher wages.
Earlier this month, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
threw its weight behind the company’s trade union.
AITUC general secretary and CPI MP Gurudas Das Gupta had
taken the stand that workers were being victimised for
forming a trade union. Barely half of the company’s labour
force is reported to be working after the agitation began.
—Agencies
PM expresses anguish
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed “deep anguish”.
“Only an inquiry could say whether the police had acted in
haste,” an official spokesperson said.
“She (Sonia Gandhi) has directed the Chief Minister to
inquire and take appropriate action against those responsible
for this incident,” said Janardhan Dwivedi, AICC general
secretary.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, Haryana Minister for Industries,
said the incident was condemnable, but it should be kept in
mind that three police vehicles were set ablaze.
Demanding that the government step down immediately, Ajay
Chautala of INLD compared today’s incident with Jallianwala
Bagh massacre
NDA convenor George Fernandes said the issue will find an
echo in Parliament
5 hours that rocked Gurgaon
11 am:Protestors assemble at Kamla Nehru Park, move towards
MDI Chowk
11:30 am: Protestors intercepted by the SDM and the DSP, who
ask them to call off the procession
12 noon: Protestors attack the SDM and the police with stones
and sticks. Set the SDM’s vehicle on fire. An outnumbered
police force flees from the spot
Between 12 and 2pm :Rampage on Mehrauli- Gurgaon road
2:30pm :Protestors reach the Mini Secretariat and assemble in
an open area
3pm:The police launch a sudden attack on the gathering.
Lathicharge lasts 45 minutes
4pm:The battered protestors are herded into buses and taken
to various police stations
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