People's Democracy

ECHOES OF GURGAON

Delhi CPI(M) Storms Haryana Bhavan

Angry CPI(M) workers braving the water cannons outside Haryana Bhavan

BREAKING through police barricades at Haryana Bhavan in New Delhi, hundreds of CPI(M) activists held a militant demonstration on July 26 condemning the brutal attack by Haryana police on the workers of Honda company in Gurgaon on July 25. They lambasted the Haryana government for its nexus with the multinational Honda company which resulted in such a savage attack on the workers.

The Delhi police, as if to show they were not inferior when it comes to bashing people, liberally used water cannons and lathis on the protestors, injuring at least four persons. These included two with head injuries – Roshan and Virender (MCD Workers Union leader). At the time of writing this Roshan is unconscious and in a serious condition in hospital while Virender got several stitches on his head.

Breaking through two police barricades, the angry protestors blocked the busy Mandi House junction roads for about half an hour. They lifted the blockade only after being assured that rallyists from various parts of the city and Gurgaon coming to Delhi would be allowed to reach Haryna Bhavan.

The protest meeting held in front of Haryana Bhavan was presided over by S B Bharadwaj, CPI(M) state secretariat member and addressed by Party central committee members Subhashini Ali, Suneet Chopra and Delhi state secretary PMS Grewal.

The speakers strongly condemned police repression on Honda workers as “barbarous and unprecedented”. They charged that such a big incident of repression could not have taken place without the complicity of the Congress state government and administration. In fact they were acting as agents of Honda company to crush the legitimate trade union and democratic rights of workers. This will not be tolerated at any cost, they said.

The speakers demanded immediate dismissal and punishment of the DM, SSP, and other officials and policemen responsible for this repression. They also demanded an impartial inquiry into the entire episode to lay bare the conspiracy behind this attack.

The meeting concluded with expression of full solidarity with the struggle of the Honda workers and called for intensifying protest and solidarity actions in defense of both the brave and fighting workers of the Honda factory and to safeguard trade union and democratic rights.

Reactions continued to pour in at the CPI(M) office expressing condemnation of the Gurgaon repression. All mass organisations in separate statements strongly denounced the attack and called for protest actions.