Maruti: Hooda-Nakanishi meet soon

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will soon hold a meeting with Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi to address the concerns of the company, which had witnessed violence at its Manesar facility on July 18.

Maruti Suzuki's General Manager Human Resources Awanish Kumar Dev was charred to death in the violence. Forty others were also injured in the scuffle.

"Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will soon meet Maruti Suzuki's chief (Shinzo) Nakanishi and other senior management officials...this meeting will be held to share company's concerns and how the government can redress those (concerns) if any," a senior official of Haryana Industry Department told PTI here today.

Without giving any time-frame for the meeting, he said it will be held "as early as possible".

Meanwhile, the company today declared a lockout at the Manesar plant, stating it cannot risk life and safety of its employees. Asserting that the Haryana government has been "proactive" in dealing with the Maruti incident, he said the state government has been in constant touch with the senior officials of the Maruti Suzuki to provide any kind of support.

"We have been asking the company management if anything it feels deficient from the state government side...let us know...we will address that," he said.

The Hood-Nakanishi meeting assumes significance as the management has been demanding prompt action against those who indulged in violence and corrective action to stop recurrence of such incidents in future.