Govt to stand by its reformist agenda

Even as different RSS affiliates oppose the reformist moves of the Narendra Modi government, top government ministers indicated on Monday there was no going back on these issues.

Even as different RSS affiliates oppose the reformist moves of the Narendra Modi government, top government ministers indicated on Monday there was no going back on these issues.

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“There is no question of any rollback of these decisions. We are confident of convincing those who are opposing it,” a senior minister told HT. Another said, “What we are proposing is part of our manifesto, which was prepared after proper consultation with all stakeholders including the RSS. There is no deviation from what we had promised before the election.”

This comes at a time when the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) — a trade union with 10 million members — plans to join other trade union bodies at a ‘national protest convention’ in Delhi sometime in September to oppose government’s decision on FDI in insurance, defence and railways. The BMS is also opposing proposed labour reforms.

“We have no other option but to oppose the moves of this government. The previous government had set up a group of ministers to study a 10-point charter of demands by all central trade unions. This government has even dismantled it,” BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said.

The BMS has threatened to go on strike if government increase FDI limit in insurance sector from 26% to 49 %.

The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) — an organisation of farmers with about 2.5 million members — too has warned the government about the repeat of ‘Nandigram and Singur type agitation’ if the land acquisition act was diluted, compromising with the interest of landowners and farmers.

“Last month the Swadeshi Jagran Manch had unsuccessfully persuaded the centre to put on hold field trials of GM crops.”