AS we go to press, the state election commission of Tripura might declare the schedule for the election to the three tier panchayat bodies of the state. But the record of the last 15 months of the BJP-IPFT rule in the state puts a big question mark about whether the polls will be free and fair. The undemocratic manner of functioning of the state election commissioner too has added to the worry. The readers of this column are well aware how all the elections, including the election to the West Tripura Lok Sabha seat, post March 3, 2018 since the BJP-IPFT government assumed office have been r

THE International Labour Organization (ILO) became a part of the Modi government-appointed so-called expert committee deciding on the methodology of calculation and fixing national minimum wage in India. In the process, it conveniently ignored all existing tripartite forums and existing laws, including a Supreme Court judgement. It is the 15TH Indian Labour Conference (ILC) which decided on the method of calculation of minimum wages, which the Supreme Court approved giving it a legal foundation.

THE president’s address to the joint session of parliament, the first after the Lok Sabha election, was expected to spell out the vision and priorities of the second Modi government.  But President Ram Nath Kovind’s speech was sparse in detail and more went unsaid than said. It is clear from the speech that the ruling party sees the “New India” as radically different from the India before 2014.  The RSS notion of a Hindu nationalist Bharat underpins their vision of a ‘New India’. The president refers to the mantra of ‘sab ka saath sab ka vikas’ relating to the previous term of the

ONLY about 22 per cent of women of working age (defined as 15 years of age or more) were gainfully employed; unemployment among women has doubled and women’s wages/salaries languish at half to two thirds of what men doing similar jobs get. These are some of the shocking revelations contained in the recently released report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for 2017-18, carried out by the government.

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions, in a statement issued on June 21, has opposed the privatisation measures incorporated in the 100 days Action Plan proposed by the ministry of railways with the approval of the minister of railways. The railway board has directed that immediate action be taken to implement the action plan by August 31, 2019.The action plan proposes operating private passenger trains. Within 100 days, two passenger trains will be offered to IRCTC which would provide ticketing and on board services.