Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday praised the Madhya Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav for resolving the issues of workers of Indore’s Hukumchand Mill, as he presided over an event to hand over cheques worth ₹224 crore in pending dues to the workers.
Addressing the ‘Mazdooron Ka Hit Mazdooron ko Samarpit’ event held in Indore through video conferencing, Mr. Modi said that it was his government’s priority to honour the poor and the labourers.
He further said that it was a matter of joy that the event was being held on December 25, the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which is celebrated as the Good Governance Day.
“I congratulate all of you for this programme organised on the occasion of Good Governance Day. This money will reach our workers in the coming days. I know you have faced many difficulties. But now, your future is bright. The people of Indore will remember December 25 as the day when the workers got justice,” the Prime Minister said.
Dues worth ₹464 crore are to be paid to workers of the Hukumchand Mill, which was shut in 1991, without proper notice to the employees. The workers then fought a 32-year-long legal battle to get their outstanding dues, including gratuity and other liabilities, from the company.
While cheques worth ₹224 crore were given to the official liquidator and the heads of the mill’s labour unions, ₹218 crore will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the workers or their families. The remaining amount includes other liabilities of the mill, a government official said.
The move by the State government is expected to benefit more than 4,800 workers and their families.
Countering the Congress’s demand of a caste-based census, Mr. Modi reiterated that the four largest and most important castes for him are the “poor, youth, women and farmers”.
“The M.P. government has taken significant steps to change the lives of the poor. Our priority is to honour the labourers and deprived,” he said.
Seeking the blessings of the labourers and their families, Mr. Modi said that it will strengthen the “new team of the double-engine government”.
Mr. Modi also took a swipe at previous governments and blamed them for “harming” the cotton and clothing industries of Indore by their policies.
“There was a time when Malwa region’s cotton used to be exported to Britain and other European countries to manufacture cloths in their mills. There was a time when Indore’s markets used to decide on the cotton rates,” the PM said, adding, “Indore used to be compared with Manchester.”
He claimed that the BJP governments in the State and at the Centre are now trying to restore the city’s old glory.
The Prime Minister also virtually laid the foundation stone for projects and development works worth more than ₹400 crore, including a 60 MW solar power plant in Jalood.
