 to crush the legal, democratical, fundamental right of the workers. On the 30th of June, a presidential ordinance has been issued in the name of essential defense services ordinance. According to this ordinance, even if I use the word strike, I can be dismissed from service without even conducting an inquiry which is mandatory as per the constitution of the country. The moody led BJP government in their second term has taken a move to corporatize all the ordinance factories in the country. This has triggered a sense of outrage among the opposition parties and the employees unions of all the 41 factories nationwide. The employees of the ordinance factories, nearly 80,000 employees and the four lakh defense civilian employees associated with the three recognized federations, all India Defense Employees Federation, AIDEF, Indian National Defense Workers Federation, INDWF, and the RSS affiliated Bharatiya Pradiraksha Mastur Sangh, BPMS, have protested in many ways and been forced to declare an indefinite strike as a final resort. But they postponed their strike several times due to the emergency requirement of their service while a conflict had taken place at the national border and also during COVID-19 pandemic. The employees have again declared that they will be carrying an indefinite strike from 26th July 2021. At this juncture, a law similar to ESMA was passed by the union government on 30th June 2021. As per the Gazette notification, the essential defense services ordinance 2021, promulgated by the President of India, empowers the union government to issue an order prohibiting strikes by the employees involved in the production of defense equipment, services, and operation or maintenance of any industrial establishment connected with the military as well as those employed in the repair and maintenance of defense products. News click reached out to C3 Kumar, the general secretary of all India Defense Employees Federation, AIDEF, to understand their apprehensions. The government instead of, it is after all an industrial dispute, no? What is this? It is an industrial dispute. You are recruited me as a government employee and you are changing my status into a public sector employee, as a corporation employee. So, I have registered this dispute. How can you do this? How can you convert my status? It is violation of Article 309 and 14 and 16 of the Constitution, a democratically elected government. What is its responsibility when I rise on industrial dispute? Either I have to be called negotiated through a bilateral discussion and the settlement should have been reached or since the conciliation has failed, the industrial dispute act says that dispute has to be referred for adjudication. Neither you have called us and entered into a negotiated settlement nor you have referred the matter to jurisprudence, that is adjudication. To the central government industrial tribunal, if I participate in a strike, even in a legal strike, I can be arrested and imprisoned for one year with a 10,000 rupees fine. Or if I say somebody, you please participate in the strike, then it becomes instigation of the strike and I can be penalized. I can be imprisoned for two years and 15 years, I mean 15,000 rupees penalty. So, this is a draconian law. The post independence is witnessing such a type of a law which takes away the democratic, legal, fundamental rights of the working class of this country. Therefore, it is draconian. This has to be withdrawn and the defense employees are fighting against that and I am very happy here to inform that now we are not isolated. By promulgating this ordinance, the government has brought the entire Indian working class together. The entire central trade unions of our country, AITUC, HMR, CITU, INTUC, everybody has joined together. Even the Bharatiya Masnoorsam, which is supposed to be an affiliate of the Raktiya Swayamsayabhatsangarasas, they have also opposed this draconian law. They have returned to the prime minister to withdraw. More and more support we are gaining. Almost six to seven parliament members have returned to the prime minister to withdraw this. The first political party, the communist party of India, it is the general secretary, comrade D. Raja has already returned to the prime minister to withdraw. We have returned to all the chief ministers. We have returned to all the political leaders including Sonia Gandhi, madam, Sharamp Power, D. and everybody, Sivara Mishuni and all top leaders of our country to support us. And we are definitely sure that all the political forces of this country, democratic forces of this country, trade unions of our country will come forward and join hands with us to fight against the draconian yet so 2021 and also in our fight to save this 220-year national asset, the 41 Indian