A senior company executive was burnt alive and 100 others were injured, following which the company has declared a lock-out at the plant. Speaking to reporters, he said, "It should not happen anywhere in the world, not only in India, or in Haryana or in Gujarat, it is not an issue where it has happened," Modi said. However, he expressed confidence that the Haryana Government can deal with the situation.
"I am sure that the Haryana government is capable enough to handle the issue and they will handle it." Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), an arm of Suzuki Motor Corp, employs about 3,000 workers at its Manesar plant which produces some of the company`s best selling models, such as Swift, Dzire, SX4 and A-Star. The company had earlier this year announced investment of Rs 4,000 crore to set up a new manufacturing facility in Gujarat in addition to its existing facilities at Manesar and Gurgaon in Haryana.
There had been widespread speculation that Maruti might shift out of Haryana due to recurring violence but this was dismissed "as fiction" by company Chairman R C Bhargava in New Delhi last week. MSI has been insisting that the investment in Gujarat was just an expansion and not shifting from Haryana.