Govt ropes in rival union to break truckers' strike

The Centre on Saturday enlisted the services of a rival union of truckers to break the logjam that has pushed prices of essentials higher as more states invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (Esma) to arrest those disrupting goods movement.

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

"We have invited representatives of the ACOGOA for a meeting," joint secretary, transport, SK Dash said, without elaborating on the agenda.

The ACOGOA is a rival of the All-India Motor Transport Congress, whose members have been on strike since Sunday midnight demanding lower diesel prices, duty-free import of tyres, and exemption from service tax, among other things.

The strike has sent the prices of essential commodities higher, while some states have initiated action against the truckers. Madhya Pradesh became the seventh state to invoke Esma.

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

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

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

ACOGOA president Channa Reddy, who also attended the meeting, said members of the association have been transporting goods wherever there are loads.

Reacting to the development, AIMTC vice-president Amolak Singh Bhatia said it was a face-saving move by the government. "The government wants to reduce diesel prices but wants to give credit to ACOGOA instead of AIMTC," he said.

"The government may be trying to create an impression that the truckers' strike has been called off through an agreement with the ACOGOA," Bhatia said.

Meanwhile, the AIMTC was looking for direction as the union's top leadership had been arrested or gone into hiding. The West Bengal chapter of the union said it would meet today to decide on the further course of action.

Another truckers' body that is participating in the strike, the All-India Transport Welfare Association (AITWA), refused to recognise the existence of the ACOGOA and said the strike will continue.

"We will continue with the strike and we will not hold any talks with the government till the AIMTC president and other arrested members are released," AITWA president Ramesh Agarwal said.

Agarwal said the AITWA was not aware of how many of its members had been arrested so far. "The government is in panic and it is entirely responsible for the strike," he said.

The strike entered its sixth day today even as Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh invoked Esma to let private vehicles ferry goods without permits and enable impounding of vehicles.