Haryana Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala has finally broken his silence on the incident of May 19 in which family members of sacked Maruti employees of the Manesar plant were caned by the police. He said the matter should be solved peacefully.
Surjewala said, “The matter should be brought to table and can be solved by holding a discussion between the sacked workers and the management of Maruti Company.” On May 19, the family members of around 100 sacked employees of the Manesar plant were lathi-charged by the police in Kaithal when they protested against the decision of the company.
Maruti had sacked nearly 2,300 workers, including 546 permanent employees for the violence on July 18 last year. A total of 147 workers, including worker union’s office bearers, were arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident.
11 workers and activists were arrested, as they had planned to stage a demonstration in front of Haryana Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala’s residence, demanding reinstatement at Kaithal. However Surjewala added that the violent incident that took place at Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki at Gurgaon in 2012 was not only unfortunate but also condemnable.
He added that after this incident, investment has suffered in the state. “Nobody wants to invest in a state where, such incidents take place”, he added.
He said, “Every problem has a solution and can be solved by discussing the matter. The family members or the sacked workers can discuss the matter with their company Maruti Suzuki at Gurgaon and put their plight before the management.”
It has been established that Maruti workers were directly involved in the violent protest in which general manager of the company was burnt alive.
Surjewala treading a middle path said that the government is not with the Maruti Company nor does it support the workers who have indulged in incident of violence as the government had no stake in the matter.