Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister thinks that Indian government employees and workers are shirkers as he lambasted the government for attempting to dilute labour laws.
“Like we fought for the rights of farmers, we will fight for the cause of the workers and government employees and stand with them and would not retreat an inch. We will fight BJP, Modi and RSS,” he said amid applause at the 31st Plenary Session of INTUC, the trade union wing of the Congress.
“Prime Minister thinks that the government employees and workers of India are dishonest, work shirkers and could be made to work only by wielding a lathi. He feels labour laws have to be weakened and workers disciplined so that they are forced to work. He wants to bring them on their knees. If you look at the new laws being made in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana, it will become clear that Modi has started a big assault on workers,” he added.
Gandhi said, “I do not agree that our employee or worker is either shirker or indisciplined… Our worker is scared. He is scared of his future, the future of his children. The worker is scared whether the job he has today will be there tomorrow. Will the factory gate open for him tomorrow.”
Insisting that the government should become “judge” between the labourers and the industry and “not advocate” of industry, he told the Prime Minister that if he is able to remove fear from the mind of the workers then India would be able to surpass China in no time.
Rahul also said the PM was merely creating buzzwords. “It started with ‘achche din’, then came ‘Swachch Bharat’, ‘Smart Cities’, ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and now ‘Accessible India’. God knows which jumla will come out next.”
Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and several Congress leaders.
