Watch: Why Rajiv Bajaj won't shut Bajaj Auto's Waluj plant under pressure

Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said that he would continue to keep the company's Aurangabad running, and that it was the safest place in Aurangabad. He said the workers' union had requested him not to shut the plant and that even the gram panchayat was in agreement with the plant being functional. A Reuters report however said that workers union had asked that operations be halted. It quoted the President of the union saying that people were scared to come to work after around 250 of them have so far tested positive for COVID-19.

Bajaj said that so far he had not deducted one rupee from the salaries of workers, but he would cut wages by 50 percent if there was another lockdown. The Reuters report said that the company has written to its employees that those who do not show up for work will not be paid.

Bajaj said the rise in COVID cases was inevitable as the economy was now beginning to open up. He maintained that the economy would see a V-shaped recovery.