Charging that the police action on the retrenched workers was at the behest of Chief Minister N Rangasamy, Union Minister of State for PMO V Narayanasamy said Congress is taking all possible measures to ensure the release of the workers on bail.
Addressing a gathering at the release of a booklet detailing the achievements of the nine years of Congress-led UPA government, he said Congress would stand by the retrenched workers, who were only seeking their re-instatement. He alleged that the AINRC government had employed 2,000 daily-rated workers who belonged to the constituency of the CM, instead of re-instating the re-trenched workers.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member Kannan has appealed to the Chief Minister to take steps for the immediate release of the retrenched workers, who were put in jail following their remand.
“It is painful to see them behind the bars. They are not criminals, nor habitual offenders. They are the breadwinners of their families. It would be better to allow them to be with their families,” Kannan said addressing a press conference here on Wednesday.
“I plead to the CM to release them at the earliest on humanitarian grounds,” said the Congress leader.
The veteran leader said that he was not justifying the Workers Act and the government could go ahead with the case. “At this moment, I don’t want to go into the details of the cases against them. My priority is to see them released,” he said and expressed hope that the CM would take steps for their release.