Following the violent riot at the Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda met with the company officials on July 23, 2012 to discuss the matter. After the meeting, when asked about the steps being taken to bring justice to the matter, Hooda said, “For that we have appointed a special prosecutor, KTS Tulsi.” The conflict at the manufacturing plant claimed life of one of the company’s Senior Managers, which shook the industry.
KTS Tulsi happens to be the President of the Criminal Justice Society of India, a position that he has been serving on since 1994. He shot to the fame after successfully prosecuting the case on behalf of the casualties of Uphaar Tragedy, wherein he strived for 10 years to bring justice to the victims. Noteworthy point here is that he never accepted any remuneration from the victims of the case ever since 1997. He was also an important part of several other cases like Bombay bomb blasts and Calcutta bomb blasts. Tulsi also served as a lawyer for the Special Investigation Team that worked on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Roping in such an illuminated figure shows the concern and commitment of Haryana state government towards bringing the persons responsible for the Manesar riot to justice. Meanwhile, MSIL has been assured by the government to receive complete support.
Haryana police has already put around 96 suspects behind the bars and is scouting for several others, including the representatives of Maruti Suzuki Worker's Union. The state industries and commerce minister, Randeep Singh Surjewala stated that the incident was not a mistake on part of the car maker and is not the case of labour unrest. He said, “This incident was different from the last one. It was basically between two people, which apparently led to an assault as negotiations were happening. Our government is pretty clear that any sort of violence, in the garb of labour unrest, would not be tolerated. We have issued a circular to all industries across the state promising safety, full support and are ready to go to any length to back industry.”
The meeting between the CM and the car maker also witnessed the presence of Gurgaon Police Commissioner, K.K. Sindhu and Director General of Police, R.S. Dalal. Others present were the Chairman, MSIL, R.C. Bhargava, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Shinzo Nakanishi, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Production, M.M. Singh and COO, Administration, S.Y. Siddiqui.
Post meeting, Bhargava said that the first priority of the company at the moment is to find the actual cause behind the unrest. These issues need to be identified and terminated, which he hopes is the direction that the CM will take. He said, “Today's meeting was to chart out the approach and action to the incident that shocked the government, administration and the company.”
About the duration of the lockout, which is clouding the Manesar plant at present, Nakanishi said that company would not commence the operations until the security and safety credentials are restored at the plant. He further mentioned that the two Japanese executives who have been hospitalised, following the injuries incurred in the conflict have been discharged from hospital and are undergoing normal checkups.
Maruti Suzuki will be ramping up losses in the excess of Rs. 75 crore every day, owing to the current lockout; however, the company is focusing on restoring the safety and security in its premises, which seems to be the need of the hour.
