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Jogi finally pipes down on Balco

Jogi finally pipes down on Balco

Author: Ambrish Kumar
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: April 5, 2001
 
Facing tremendous pressure from workers of the Bharat Aluminium Limited Company (BALCO) who have been denied wages for the second month and with the imminent possibility of the agitation over its sale to Sterling collapsing, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi today asked the Centre for talks.

The new management has made it clear that it would follow a 'no work, no wages policy. And Jogi, who had turned the Centre's disinvestment proposal into an issue of violation of tribal rights, is realising that lie may have overplayed his hand. Over 1500 contract labourers are facing starvation and the workforce is no longer as enthusiastic as it was earlier about sustaining the agitation. In fact the Chief Minister was recently forced to issue a public appeal for a day's salary for the workers.

Jogi now dreads the possibility of being accused of leading the workers into a trap and has quickly tried to wriggle out by expressing his willingness to hold talks with the Centre.

The Chief Minister swallowed his pride and made the proposal in a letter sent to Union Minister for Mines Sunderlal Patwa. Jogi has denied the charge that he was stalling the talks and also rebutted allegations by some Union ministers that he was behaving like a trade union leader.

He has, however, reiterated his charge that the Union Government was championing the cause of the private management even before the Supreme Court and regretted that the Centre did not honour the resolutions passed by the tribal advisory council and also the Chhattisgarh assembly on the disinvestment issue.

Jogi has also complained that the Centre did not take his offer to buy the plant for Rs 552 crore seriously and the Ministry for Disinvestment turned down the offer even without reading it.
 


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