BMS, BKS and SJM are trying to forge common cause with outfits on the other side of the ideological divide over the government's policies they are not in agreement with.
'In the course of my interactions with him, Modi insisted that he does not believe charisma alone can sustain people's trust for long.' 'That is why Modi consistently refers to Mahatma Gandhi to contextualise his politics.' 'He believes in taking his ideas to the masses and getting their acceptance as an index of approval.'
A revealing excerpt from Ajay Singh's The Architect of the New BJP: How Narendra Modi Transformed the Party.
The BJP sees investments, both foreign and domestic, as their pathways to political power and not the construction of the Ram temple or a nationwide ban on beef. It will have no option but to let commerce prevail over religious sentiments, says Amulya Ganguli.
Whether it took the corona crisis to bring about the transformation, or otherwise, the change ought to be welcome, notes Virendra Kapoor.
While some trade union leaders have welcomed the move, industry has opposed it, fearing an increase in its wage bill
Protests by central labour unions and widespread criticism from Opposition parties because of job losses on account of demonetisation and the GST have put the contentious labour reform proposals in the slow lane.
The ten central trade unions have demanded a cash transfer of Rs 7,500 a month to all families that do not pay income tax, free ration of 10 kg per head in a month to all the needy, expansion of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment scheme to cover more days of job, withdrawal of labour codes and farm bills, halt on privatisation, universal pension coverage and withdrawal of "draconian" circular on forced premature retirement of government officials.
'Just as coronavirus has come to us from China, this disease is also coming from that country.' 'India is a strong democracy and you cannot compromise on labour laws in this manner.' 'These changes will be challenged in court.'
'India imports 70 per cent of its bulk drugs from China. Are we going to live without antibiotics?' asks Debashis Basu.
The Left unions want concrete action and not just 'assurances'.
Police have initiated action against independent MLA P C George who had levelled derogatory charges against the victimised nun.
The government has set up a high-level committee.
'The PM cannot give a single reason why farmers should trust him.'
States are apprehensive of losing their rights to raise revenue during emergencies.
'By holding forth on Swadeshi economics, Bhagwat is showing his intent to fight back,' says Shekhar Gupta.
In the second of a four-part series, Business Standard checks out the currency press in Dewas to find target-based allowances have increased the monthly salary of employees from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000, at a time when notes are being printed 24x7.
Labour unions, with a history of hostility towards management, are pushing back on Coal India's plans, fearing modernization and outsourcing will hit jobs.
The implementation of four labour codes in one go from April 1 next year will usher in a new wave of reforms in industrial relations and also help in attracting more investments but employment generation will remain a key challenge in 2021. This year has also been a challenging year for the work force as well as for employers due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government imposed a nationwide lockdown from March 25, which had an adverse impact on economic activities and resulted in exodus of migrant workers from large cities to their homes in the hinterland. Many migrant labourers lost their jobs and it took months for them to return back to their work places from their native places.
Kisan Mazdoor Sangh (KMS) and Kisan Sena (KS) made a representation, which also included a demand for strengthening the dispute resolution system in case of any trouble in contract farming.
SAD and Paksha have written to the panel headed by S S Ahluwalia that "not an inch" of land should be acquired without the consent of farmers.
On the first anniversary of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Sangh Parivar affiliates say they are annoyed with the ruling dispensation but can't live without it either
As the Centre faces multiple hurdles, BJP-governed states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have swiftly moved in to usher in radical reforms as they aim to take a larger share of the FDI pie.
'Only on two occasions has the RSS thrown itself completely on the side of the BJP.' 'In 1977 in the wake of the Emergency. And in 2014 with Modi.' 'Now, I've been told that this is not going to happen in 2019.'
Coal workers across the country have resumed work after a two-day strike and promised to make up for an estimated 1 million tonne production loss, as the government assured that state-run behemoth Coal India will not be privatised and employees' interests would be paramount.
The Centre has, however, retained its proposal to curb flash strikes as workers in all factories will be required to give employers a strike notice of at least two weeks after the Bill becomes a law.
Rajasthan has taken the lead on structural reforms which could help India attract business and employ a fast-growing workforce.
'Challenges will come but we will stay the course. No big step can be taken if one is afraid of criticism. We will not flinch from criticism,' says Railways Minister Piyush Goyal.
Over 75 per cent of India's daily coal output has been hit as the five-day strike by workers of state-run miners entered the second day on Wednesday, raising fears of disruption in power supplies.
A day after being sworn-in, the new ministers took charge of their portfolios. Here's a look at the various new ministers on their first day at work.
Aditi Phadnis and Archis Mohan take a state by state takedown of the party's chances in the poll-bound states.
'The animosity in the BJP against Swamy continued for a good more than thirty years.' 'It was only after herculean efforts by a reconstituted and more just RSS, that Swamy was finally inducted into the BJP in 2013.'
'On December 5, the government called unions for pre-Budget consultations.' '12 trade unions were called and the time allotted was one hour which means 5 minutes for each union.' 'We were asked to present our views in about four minutes.' 'That itself is a reflection of how serious the government is about workers' demands.'
Workers' attitude is changing and they want to work more and demand more wages. They want more productivity.
'She must first change the Rules of Business 1961 that makes the defence secretary and not the defence minister responsible for the defence of the country!' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd.)
The RSS on Sunday said it has not abandoned its commitment to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and sought speeding up of the case proceedings in the Supreme Court.
Ten trade unions to go on strike to protest against changes in labour laws
After assuming power in 2014 with a full majority of its own, the BJP-led NDA government started an ambitious process of reforming labour laws in the form of codes aimed at making the framework less cumbersome with a variety of alterations. It had planned four codes each for industrial relations, wages, social security and welfare, and occupational safety, health and working conditions. To this end, 35 central labour laws were to be converted into four codes that would have had the virtue of streamlining labour relations. But none of the proposed code Bills could be converted into a law principally because neither trade unions nor industry representatives came on board. They hold the key to India's low-growth-high unemployment paradigm but the government may struggle to push them through this time as well. Somesh Jha explains why
'You cannot treat workers like beggars.'
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday said its stance on Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir has not changed, even as it termed as "teething problems" the friction between BJP and PDP in the state stressing that the "novel experiment" should be given time to succeed.
'This government has not created any employment.' 'Forget employment, the government had not done anything in skill development.'
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