-Newsclick.in The suspension of labour laws by BJP governments promotes corporate interests at the expense, not just of workers, but the rest of society, including small businesses and petty producers. Even as millions of migrant workers are wearily trudging back to their villages with no money, no food and no shelter, or are locked up en route in shoddy quarantine camps, a war has been unleashed on the rights of workers under...

-Newsclick.in It is noteworthy that rights of workers have been suspended despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorting employers during the initial phase of the lockdown period not to cut down jobs. New Delhi: Over the past week, various states, including those ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as those ruled by non-BJP political parties, are being held squarely responsible for drastic suspension of labour laws in the midst of...

-Vikalp.ind.in When the entire country is under a lockdown and many economic activities stopped, thousands of unemployed workers are returning to their home states due to lack of money and food. In such a situation, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) could have played a very important role in generating income and demand in the economy. However, the official data available from the MGNREGS website of the Ministry...

-Scroll.in Emotion and grand political statements may normally distract and attract voters. In a crisis, they are poor substitutes for governance. It is now 41 days since the government told the Supreme Court that there were no migrant workers on the road any more. “They have been taken to the nearest available shelter”, and 2.3 million were being fed, India’s Solicitor General told the judges, who – in a now familiar routine...

-Hindustan Times While open political contestation faces hurdles, the government needs to be held accountable Five weeks ago, the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed the Indian economy in cold storage. It also seems to have put politics on ice. As the government prepares to gradually dial down the economic freeze on May 3, politics, too, must emerge from its hibernation. Politics — at its core — is about...