Only rich are getting richer: RSS affiliated bodies disagree with PM Modi's 'acchche din' policies

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have announced the arrival of achche din in the country with aplomb, but some right wing bodies affiliated to the RSS do not seem to be on the same page. Acutely aware of the possibility of losing their cadre base due the labour and land policies of the NDA government, they have started getting more vocal within the Sangh and outside.

The latest to come out in the open is Krishna Chandra Mishra, the organising secretary of India’s largest labour union, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). In a recent interview to a national daily Mishra, the senior most RSS functionary deputed to the trade body, had come down heavily on the government. Speaking to Firstpost, he said the government wants to curb the voice of labourers and workers by bringing an end to trade unions in the country.

“A trade union faces immense harassment in getting itself registered each government intentionally delays the process. It wants to curb the democratic voice of the workers. We’ve long-pending demands, but till now the government hasn’t spoken to us. Workers’ problems have remained unresolved. Only PM Modi can tell what is happening. The government should initiate dialogue with the workers’ unions and redress their grievances at the earliest,” Mishra said.

He added, “The Centre has set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Arun Jaitley to look into the issues and demands of trade unions like our objection to FDI in certain sectors, disinvestment of profit-making PSUs, dilution of labour laws, wage revision, etc, but till date no dialogue has taken place. Maybe it’ll take place after the International Labour Organisation meeting in Geneva. Bureaucracy is also responsible as it often feeds wrong information to the government and puts it in a false position.”

The general secretary of BMS, Virjesh Upadhyay, who’s less critical of the Modi-government, considers the woes of workers’ as an outcome of global market economy.

“The workers’ problem is not new. Despite big labour movements in the last 66 years, nothing much has changed. Modiji was elected for change and he has been taking steps towards development, but has been facing resistance, since day one. In India, the trade unions have got a negative image, of being opposed to every development. We’re not against capital or industry, but our foremost concern is the welfare of labourers,” he said.

“The rich have become richer, the businessmen are happy, but there is no perceptible change in the life of the common man. We’re a non-political body, and we’re accountable to workers’ of this country, and if the government faults on its responsibility, we won’t shirk from raising our voice against whichever government it is,” said Upadhyay.

He suggested that the government should introduce a cap on profit to ensure proper distribution of wealth. “The gap between regular and contract workers is widening. Make in India concept is nothing new. Foreign companies in automobiles, FMCG, etc, have been manufacturing in India since long. But, these companies neither follow the best labour practices of their countries nor ours. The government has to safeguard its workforce. Similarly, the Centre didn’t properly address the social impact assessment issue in the case of the Land Acquisition Bill,” he said.

Besides other trade unions and farmers’ organisations, the BMS and other the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) had strongly objected to the Centre’s ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Act, stating that the move would have a damaging impact on Indian farmers.

Prabhakar Kelkar, BKS general secretary and a senior RSS functionary in farmers’ union said, “It’s too short a period to expect everything from the government. In India, the government employees are not accustomed to hard work. It’ll take some time to change the system. However, the Centre’s move created a wrong perception on Land Acquisition Bill. As a farmers’ organisation, our duty is to protect their interests and for this if we’ve to create pressure on the government, we’ll do it.”

The Left-affiliated trade unions have welcomed this stand of BMS and BKS.

Tapan Sen, general secretary of CITU said, “No government is talking about labour laws and reforms. The Modi government is attacking trade union movement, and wants it to be redundant. The BMS has joined us in opposing the Centre’s move.”

Vijoo Krishnan, joint secretary, All India Kisan Sabha, added, “Any union or organisation that works for the workers, labourers and farmers, ought to support their cause or else its credibility will be questioned. The Modi-government’s policies are clearly anti-farmer and anti-labourer. This is a positive step taken by the BMS and the BKS.”

AITUC leader Gurudas Dasgupta added, “All trade unions cutting across party lines are against these labour reforms.”