The Home Ministry’s swift and unexpected move in arresting Mr George Fernandes and other prominent railway labour leaders early this morning sparked off lightning strikes, the cancellation of trains and protest demonstrations by railwaymen at various places in the country.
The threatened railway strike from May 8 now appears inevitable. But the ominous possibility is that the strike in certain areas may begin even earlier.
The Northern Railwaymen’s Union, a constituent of the All-India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF), has asked its members to go on an indefinite strike from tomorrow at 6 a.m.
The National Co-ordination Committee for Railwaymen’s Struggle (NCGRS) immediately reacted by breaking off negotiations with the Railway Ministry and boycotted the meeting convened by Railway Minister L. N. Mishra this morning to resume the talks with labour leaders.
The Action Committee of the NCCRS, which asked its members to organise picketing and demonstrations against the arrest of the leaders, told the Railway Minister in a letter that negotiations would not be resumed until all the arrested persons were released.
Mr Fernandes, who is convener of the NCCRS and president of the AIRF, was arrested in Lucknow at 3 a.m. this morning and later brought to Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Mr Fernandes was to participate in the resumed talks beginning at 10 a.m. here under the chairman, ship of the Railway Minister.
{{/usCountry}}Mr Fernandes, who is convener of the NCCRS and president of the AIRF, was arrested in Lucknow at 3 a.m. this morning and later brought to Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Mr Fernandes was to participate in the resumed talks beginning at 10 a.m. here under the chairman, ship of the Railway Minister.
{{/usCountry}}It is noteworthy that Mr Mishra’s letter to Mr Fernandes accusing him of “lacking sincerity and earnestness in arriving at a settlement” was delivered at his New Delhi residence at 1 a.m. today. Two hours later. Mr Fernandes was arrested by the Delhi police at the Lucknow railway station.
The arrest of the railway leaders under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act began early this morning and continued throughout the day. The pre-dawn swoops at first took the railwaymen by surprise. Later they expressed their revulsion and anger in various forms.
Northern Railway employees working at Baroda House here went on a pen-down strike around mid-day today when they heard the news of the arrest of Mr Fernandes and three other members of the Action Committee, namely Mr S. C. Choudhury, Mr N. Chakraravarty and Mr P K. Barua, who is also the secretary-general of the All-India Loco Running Staff Association.
The Central Rallway cancelled 33 suburban trains and about half a dozen up-country trains.
Some of the places where trains were detained by the demonstrating staff or cancelled by the railway authorities included - Gaya, Bhopal, Pathankot, Varanasi and Hyderabad At some places, workers gheraoed officers.
Scores of trade union leaders and railway workers have been arrested.
The Action Committee held an emergency meeting this morning and in a letter to the Railway Minister, declared that it would not participate in the negotiations which, in the absence of the NCCRS representatives, would be “a sham and eyewash.”
The conference convened by Mr Mishra was attended only by representatives of the INTUC-led NFIR.
Letter
The letter, signed by nine of the 13 members of the Action Committee, held the Government responsible for breaking off the negotiations by arresting the trade union leaders.
The letter to the Railway Minister, sighed among other’s by Mrs Parvati Krishnan (CPI-led Indian Railway Workers Federation), Mr G. S. Gokhale (Jan Sangh supported Bhartiya Rail Mazdoor Sangh) and Mr Priya Gupta (AIRF of the Socialist Party) expressed shock and dismay that the arrests should have been made “when we were due to meet at 10 a.m. today and negotiations to avert the strike were going on.” The letter alleged that Mr Mishra had given a categorical assurance that no arrests or penal actions would be taken against the leaders while the negotiations were going on.
Mr Mishra in his letter told Mr Fernandes that the failure on the part of the representatives of AIRF to attend the meeting yesterday at which the minutes of agreement were drawn up between the Member (Staff) of the Railway Board and the union representativ6s showed “your dissociation from the significant agreements and understanding the Committee had arrived at in its three days of protracted deliberations.”
Mr Mishra’s accusation, however, has been denied by AIRF and NCCRS sources. Mr Priya Gupta said in a statement that at Tuesday’s meeting it was decided that “two authorised representatives of the NCCRS” would attend yesterday’s meeting. .Accordingly, Mrs Krishnan and Mr Gokhale attended the’ meeting at which the minutes were finalised. It was totally false to claim that the AIRF was not represented at the meeting yesterday. The question was not of the AIRI”s representation, but that of the NCCRS.
However, Mr Mishra’s letter said that they had agreed that the representatives of Mr Fernandes group (AIRF) would “get together with the Member (Staff) in the forenoon, of May 1 to draw up the minutes” on points of agreement and disagreement in the negotiations.
The NFIR and AIRF are the two trade unions which the Railway Ministry has recognised. Mr Mishra’s point was -that apart from the AIRF’s dissociation from yesterday’s meeting, “what has caused me even greater distress is that, knowing fully well that another meeting was slated for May 2.” Mr Fernandes had described the negotiations in a press briefing on April 30 “as a meaningless exercise.”
“Further, in spite of your assurance (that the strike notice was a mere technicality and would not prejudice the negotiations), I was pained to read subsequently accounts of your public speeches in Bombay and elsewhere which were in language and content obviously calculated to damage the very purpose of the negotiations.”
A railway spokesman said Mr A P. Sharma (President of the NFIR), . Mrs Krishnan and Mr Gokhale attended the meeting yesterday with Member (Staff) of the Railway Board The minutes were approved today when the negotiations resumed with the representatives of only the NFIR attending. However, the meeting did not proceed beyond approving the minutes.
The Action Committee of the NCCRS has called upon all railwaymen to organise “united protest actions all over the country.” Mr N. S. Bhangoo, Secretary General of the All India Railway Employees’ Confederation, said that unless all the leaders were released, there would be no negotiations.
“We have asked our members to go on an indefinite strike from May 8 even if all the leaders are arrested.” According to him, workers in several places abstained themselves from work on hearing the news of Mr Fernandes’ arrest. The cash, and pay section in the Delhi Division had been closed down he claimed
PTI and UNI add:
Nineteen trade union leaders belonging to the AIRF and unions led by CPI-M were taken into preventive custody under the MISA in the Capital since early this morning.
Orders for their detention were issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Delhim Mr V.K. Kapoor, who had also issued the warrant under which Mr Fernandes was taken into custody in Lucknow.
CHANDIGARH: At least 141 railway employees were “detained” by police throughout Punjab today in apprehension of a breach of the peace.
An official spokesman said here that of them 74 had been “arrested”.
The largest number of arrests -34-was made at Ferozepore, a divisional headquarters of the Northern Railway. The number of railway employees detained district-wise was: Faridkot - 15, Ferozep6re - 34, Amritsar -.11, Ludhiana 21, Gurdaspur - six. Bhatinda - 18, Hoehiarpur eight, Kapurthala one, Jullandur – eight, Patiala seven, Sangrur - six and Ropar -six.
HYDERABAD: As many as 62 railway employees and their leaders were detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act all over Andhra Pradesh till 6 pm today.
The arrested include the convener of the Divisional Co-ordination Committee and secretary of the South Central Railway Mazdoor Union K L. Wagh, organising secretary of the CITU, N. V. Bhaskara Rao, and several members of the Co-ordination Committee Arrests were made at different towns in the State, including Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Vishakha* patnam, Kurnool, Ongole and Nellore.
BIKANER: Mr Haritam Kashyap, MP, and Mr M. P. Ashthana, president and general secretary, respectively, of the Bikaner Division Railway Employees Union, were today taken into custody under the MISA.
Leaders of other railway unions who have given strike notice are reported to have gone underground.
BHUBANESWAR: Forty-three trade union leaders were arrested, most of them under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, in different parts of Orissa early this morning, according to official reports reaching here today.
The reports said the arrested included 32 railway employees. Among those arrested were Mr J. C, Munshi, convener of the Khurda Road Division Railwayrnen’s Coordination committee, and Mr M Majumdar, president of the Khurda Road Division Station Masters’ and Assistant Station Masters’ Association.
AHMEDABAD: Over 105 railway employees and their union leaders were arrested in different towns of Gujarat today.
PATNA: Six leaders of railway employees in Dinapur division of the Eastern Railway have been arrested in apprehension of a breach of peace on the eve of the proposed nation-wide strike by railwaymen, according to police.
Four leaders were arrested at Patna.
ALLAHABAD: Four trade union leaders of Northern Railway employees were taken into custody by police here today. The arrested leaders included Mr G M. Mukherjee and Mr P. C. Bhattacharya, divisional president and secretary, respectively, of the Northern Railway Workers’ Union.
BHOPAL: A large number of railway employees here today went on a lightning strike following the arrests of railway labour leaders resulting in a standstill of rail traffic in and around the Bhopal Railway Station, it was officially stated.
Many railway employees, including about 100 women “gheraoed” a railway police station and other important railway offices here in the forenoon obstructing “loyal” employees.
As a precautionary measure three trains, including the Southern Express from Delhi, were detained at a nearby station by the authorities.
GAYA: Railway employees of all categories here went on a wild-cat strike this morning in protest against the arrest of two union leaders last night.
As a result, all incoming trains have been stranded beyond the railway station.
MADRAS: The Southern Railway Employees Sangh has decided not to join ‘the proposed railway strike on May 8.
decision to this effect was taken by the Sangh at a meeting held here yesterday.
A resolution adopted as the meeting and released to the Press today said the Sangh would await the report of the Bonus Review Committee on the issue of bonus to railwaymen. It said the Sangh stood by its commitment to go on strike on the issue, if the Bonus Committee rejected the demand.