Baalu invites truckers for talks; AIMTC says release leaders

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) The Government of India Saturday
asked striking truckers to come for negotiations to bring to
an end the six-day-old stir, while the All India Motor
Transport Congress (AIMTC) remained adamant pressing for their
demands, including release of its arrested leaders.

While goods supplies remained hit, which has resulted in
panic buying in many parts of the country, the Centre, which
asked the state governments to act firmly against the
strikers, sounded a reconciliatory note to resolve the issue.

"We don't want to act tough, we don't want to precipitate
the issue further. Transporters are the stakeholders of the
ministry. I'm only requesting to come forward (for talks),"
Baalu told reporters when asked why the ministry was acting
soft on truckers unlike the tough stand taken by Petroleum and
Natural Gas Ministry against oil Public Sector Undertaking
(PSU) officers, who had to call off their agitation.

Reacting to the minister's comments, a representative of
AIMTC said, "When our leaders are arrested, how can we go for
talks with the minister?"

As the government started cracking down, 32 members of
AIMTC, including President Charan Singh Lohara and Secretary S
Venugopal, were arrested yesterday.

"Only a handful of people have been arrested. Other
members are there who can come and meet me," Baalu said.

The minister's statement comes a day after the Centre
had asked states to act firm against the transporters and
invoke Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and allow
private vehicles without permits to ferry essential items.

Earlier in the day, the government enlisted the services
of striking truckers' rival union to break the logjam that has
pushed prices of essentials commodities higher, even as more
states invoked ESMA to arrest those disrupting goods movement.

The government, which Friday said it would ply 15-20
lakh trucks and let private vehicles carry goods without
permit, called a meeting with the representatives of All India
Confederation of Goods Vehicles Owners Associations (ACOGOA),
which claims command over 40 lakh trucks across the country.

"We have invited representatives of ACOGOA for a
meeting," Transport Ministry Joint Secretary S K Dash said,
without elaborating the agenda.

ACOGOA is the rival union of AIMTC, whose members have
been on strike since Sunday midnight, demanding lower diesel
prices, duty-free import of tyres and exemption from service
tax, among others.

The strike has pushed prices of essential commodities
higher, while states initiated action against truckers. Madhya
Pradesh became the seventh state to invoke the Essential
Services Maintenance Act.

Emerging from the meeting, ACOGOA Vice-President
Chittranjan Dass said, "We are not participating in the
truckers' strike."

Asked, what was the meeting about, he said, "We discussed
our own issues... We requested the government to abolish the
import duty on radial tyres."

"They (govt) have assured us of a reduction in diesel
prices," he said but did not divulge the specifics of the
expected price cuts.

ACOGOA President Channa Reddy, who also attended the
meeting, said the association member had been transporting
goods wherever there were loads.