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‘Some dues left..’: Mallikarjun Kharge's jibe at L&T chairman's call to work on Sundays
Mallikarjun Kharge thanked the company for building the new party building but replied to its chairman's suggestion in a sarcastic manner.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday disagreed with L&T chairman Subrahmanyan's suggestion of a 90-hour workweek and recalled Jawaharlal Nehru and BR Ambedkar's stance that workers should not be made to work more than eight hours a day.
Kharge made the remark while addressing party leaders after the inauguration of the Congress' new headquarters at 9A, Kotla Road, Delhi, construction of which was undertaken by L&T. The Congress president thanked the company for building the new party building but replied to its chairman's suggestion in a sarcastic manner.
“Some dues are also left from our side,” Kharge said to peals of laughter from the attendees.
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“I would like to thank L&T construction, architects, labourers involved in the construction. While I thank the company, but the company's CEO has made a remark of working 90 hours in a week. I don't agree with that,” news agency PTI quoted Kharge saying.
Kharge recalled Nehru and Ambedkar's stance while formulating the Factories act that workers should not be made to do more than eight hours of work a day. A labourer works for eight hours and gets tired, he noted.
The Congress leader also recalled previous calls for a 70-hour work week by former Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy. “After that someone said nine hours, but he (L&T chief) is now talking of 12 hours, 14 hours, he should leave that (view), but I thank the company because they have done a very good job,” Kharge added.
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90-hour work week remark
L&T chairman Subrahmanyan's regret on not being able to get his employees to work on Sunday's and his remarks became widely controversial, sparking a debate on work-life balance.
“What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Come on, get to the office and start working,” he had said.
“I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy because I work on Sundays,” Subrahmanyan was heard saying in an undated video circulating on social media.
