Ayodhya case: Muslim parties apologise in Supreme Court for questioning 2003 ASI report
New Delhi: The Muslim parties on Thursday took a U-turn on questioning the authorship of the 2003 report of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and apologised to the Supreme Court for wasting its time in the Ayodhya land dispute case.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was told by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan that they do not wish to question the authorship of the summary of the ASI report.
"It is not expected that every page is to be signed. The authorship of the report and the summary need not be questioned. If we had wasted my lords time, then we apologise for that. There is no point going into that.
"The report in question has an author and we are not questioning the authorship," Dhavan, representing the Muslim parties, said.
On Wednesday, senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, also representing the Muslim parties, questioned the ASI report saying every chapter is attributed to an author but the summary has not been attributed to anyone.
The bench also comprising Justices S A Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer said that Dhavan in his opening remark has said that he has not forfeited his right to question the report but the evidences cannot be discredited after being accepted by the court.
At the outset, the bench asked both Hindu and Muslim parties to specify the time frame for completing the argument saying that there will not be any extra day after October 18.
"There will not be any extra day after October 18. It will be miraculous, if we deliver the judgement in four weeks in the matter," Chief Justice Gogoi said.
The court asked the Muslim parties to wrap up their arguments on the ASI report during the course of the day. It said there are holidays in October and only one advocate of the four Hindu parties will be allowed to give rejoinder arguments.
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Cong slams Modi govt as 'anti-worker', calls for review of new Labour code
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of being "anti-worker" and demanded that the new labour code be reviewed, MGNREGA be revived as well as a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day be established.
On International Labour Day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took a swipe at the government and said unemployment in India today is a direct consequence of the 'Hum Do, Hamare Do' policies.
"Driven by the 'Hum Do, Hamare Do' policy, the Modi government implemented an anti-worker Labour Code. As a result, unrest has erupted everywhere - be it in Noida, at the IOCL facility in Panipat, Adani's factory in Raikheda, NTPC Patratu, or the Samsung factory in Sriperumbudur," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
Instead of ensuring job security, this Code promotes policies such as contract labour and 'Hire & Fire' practices, Kharge said and called for a review of the new Labour Code.
The Modi government has effectively dismantled MGNREGA by forcibly pushing legislation through Parliament, he alleged.
"Mr. Modi has shifted 40% of the wage burden onto the State governments. State governments are unable to bear this financial strain and will eventually be forced to stop providing work," he claimed.
The Modi government has compelled workers into a state of unemployment and pushed them towards 'gig work', Kharge said.
Currently, 69% of the workforce is working for wages below the statutory minimum wage, he said.
The Modi government has engineered a crisis of stagnant wages, Kharge alleged.
"When adjusted for inflation, the wages of the majority of India's workers have grown by less than 1% annually over the last decade (from 2014-15 to 2022-23)," he said.
The Modi government has created a massive unemployment crisis among the educated workforce, specifically, among graduates, Kharge claimed and added that jobs have been eliminated through the sale of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
"The government has refused to fill approximately 30 lakh vacant government positions. Furthermore, the government's policy blunders have led to the decimation of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)," the Congress chief said.
The Congress reiterates its five demands for India's workers including revival of MGNREGA and its expansion to urban areas, Kharge said.
He said a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day should be established, with MNREGA included within its scope.
Kharged demanded that a 'Right to Health' law must be enacted, providing Universal Health Coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh for laborers and workers.
"'Life Insurance and Accident Insurance' coverage must be provided for all unorganized workers. Preventing the contractualization of employment must be made a core priority of the government, and the new Labour Codes must be reviewed," Kharge asserted.
