Mamata only concerned about Bengali-speaking Muslims, claims Assam CM Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has alleged that his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee is only concerned about Bengali-speaking Muslims.
He cautioned that if she comes to Assam for the sake of Muslim-Bengalis, Assamese and Hindu-Bengalis will "not spare her".
“The question is whether Mamata Banerjee likes Bengalis or only Muslim-Bengalis. My answer is only Muslim-Bengalis,” Sarma said on Thursday, on the Trinamool Congress chief’s recent accusation against the BJP of weaponising linguistic identity to achieve political goals.
“If she comes to Assam for the Muslim-Bengalis, the Assamese people and Hindu-Bengalis will not spare her,” he asserted.
Sarma questioned if Banerjee is interested in the protection of the Bengali-speaking people, why has she "not implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, in her state?"
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 paves the way for granting Indian nationality to undocumented non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan -- who came to India before December 31, 2014.
Sarma maintained that Bengali-speaking Hindus have assimilated into the greater Assamese society and their language, culture, religion and all aspects are protected here.
“Mamata Banerjee should realise that in Assam, Bengali-Hindus are not only protected, they have been assimilated into the greater Assamese landscape. They have their ministers, MLAs,” the chief minister said.
He said the Bengali-Hindus speak in their language, practise their religion and all aspects of their culture here, adding that Bengali is an "associate official language in the state and the official language in Barak valley".
“There is no division between Bengalis and Assamese here,” the chief minister added.
Banerjee has been accusing the Centre and the BJP-ruled states of systematically targeting Bengali-speaking migrants by branding them as "illegal Bangladeshi" or 'Rohingya'.
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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.
