NCP, Sena MLAs grill govt over Svadeshi Mills

NCP, Sena MLAs grill govt over Svadeshi Mills
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MUMBAI, MARCH 21: The Democratic Front government today came under severe criticism from the opposition as well as its own members in the Assembly over its failure to solve the impasse in Svadeshi Mills and the suicide of a mill worker because he was not paid wages for the last six months.

``Is the government serious about solving the problem,''Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) members Anil Babar and Sachin Ahir asked Labour Minister Satish Chaturvedi when the latter urged Speaker Arun Gujrathi to postpone a calling attention notice on the issue.

As many as 48 members from all parties had moved the notice seeking immediate intervention from the government in the issue.

Chaturvedi told the House that a meeting of the concerned parties has been called by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday and hence the notice should be postponed.

Cutting across the party lines, members from both the sides, expressed doubts over the seriousness of the government in solving the dispute.

Opposition leader Narayan Rane, Liladhar Dake ( both Sena), Babar and Ahir pointed out that no action had been taken for a month although the Chief Minister had promised the issue would be solved within a week.

Babar wanted to know whether Ratan Tata, chief of the Tata Group, had written to the government distancing himself from the situation. Ahir said he suspected that Tata would not turn up for the meeting even on Thursday.He wanted to know why the government had requested some persons to convince Tata. He warned that one more worker of the mill has threatened to set himself ablaze if a decision on their payments was not taken by March 23.

Chaturvedi assured the members that the government will do its best to find a solution in Thursday's meeting. The meeting will be attended by representatives of the mill management, financial institutions, workes' unions and elected representatives.

The opposition also pressed for an adjournment motion over the issue but the speaker turned down the request.