The Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha today.

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment, Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar introduced the Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha today.

Earlier, opposing the introduction of the bill, RSP KNK Premachandran, Trinamool Congress's Saugata Roy and Congress's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, calling the said code anti-employee, demanded the government to send it to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, said that it has not  consulted the states. Sowat Rai said that no labour organization had demanded this code and said Industry organizations wanted, so the government has brought it on its own. Describing it as 'anti-labor', he said that it should be sent to the Standing Committee on Labour. Chaudhary also demanded to send it to the Standing Committee stating it as 'anti-labor'.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the members have not given any single reason to prove that there is no legislative authority to bring the bill to this house. K. Subbarayan and CPI-M's Abdul Majeed Arif and S. Venkatesan also sought permission to speak in opposition to the introduction of the bill, but the Lok Sabha Speaker said that notices had not been given in the past. Members can elaborate during the discussion. Left not allowed to speak, members of the Left walked out of the House. Gangwar said that the government has brought the Industrial Relations Code after long discussion and consultation with labor organizations and all state governments. There is no provision against the rights of workers. He then introduced the 'Industrial Relations Code, 2019' in the House.

While presenting the bill, Mr. Gangwar said that this code has been prepared after extensive consultation with representatives of trade unions, employee organizations and state governments. The Bill aims to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the service conditions of employment in trade unions, industrial establishments or undertakings and the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes. The draft Industrial Relations Code is governed by these three Central Labour Acts like the Trade Union Act, 1926; The merger, simplification and rationalization of the relevant provisions of the Industrial Employment (Standing Order) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 have been prepared. The Union Cabinet approved the Code of Industrial Relations, 2019 on 20 November 2019.

Benefits :

A concept has been introduced through the formation of a two-member tribunal (in place of one member), which will jointly adjudicate on some important matters, while the remaining cases will be adjudicated by a single member. 

There will be flexibility in the 'exit' provisions (relating to lay-offs, etc.), under which the initial limit required for prior approval of the appropriate government has been kept unchanged at the level of 100 employees. 

However, a provision has also been added to it, under which 'such number of employees' can be changed through notification. Reskilling fund, which will be used to lend to workers in a manner that is yet to be determined. 

Definition of fixed-term employment. There would be no notice period under it and excluding compensation on lay-offs. Government officials will be empowered to adjudicate on disputes related to penalties as fines, reducing the tribunal's workload.

How President's rule in Maharashtra ended without cabinet meeting ?

For weeks after the assembly election results, there was a tussle between BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP for power in Maharashtra. The BJP, which had emerged as the single largest party, could not stake claim to form the government due to unease over power-sharing with its former ally Shiv Sena. Since all parties failed to prove majority, President's rule was imposed on November 12, 2019. On the night of 22 November, there were reports that a coalition of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress would soon form the government. However, the next day everyone got a shock when the BJP formed the government, claiming the support of NCP MLAs. President's rule was repealed under Rule 12 of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) 1961 at 5:47 am, just hours before the oath ceremony. The provision that was used by the Prime Minister to repeal President's rule is Rule 12 of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) 1961. This provision states: "Rule 12 of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) 1961 gives the Prime Minister the right to allow or ignore deviations from the rules to the extent necessary to settle a situation of excessive urgency or unexpected contingency in a particular case. Even in such situations, the process of trial and inter-ministerial consultation has to be followed. All the cases are mandatory under Rule 12 Must be forwarded through the Cabinet Secretary and sent directly to the Prime Minister in any case. The following guidelines are required to be followed in cases necessary for Rule 12 to be implemented:

A) Proposals only Administrative Ministry / To be extended by the Department, which will be related to the subject of Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961. 

B) A detailed justification in the proposals It must clearly state the urgency and exceptional circumstances involved in the case, which need to be processed under Rule 12, as well as a statement explaining the reasons why the proposal received the approval of the competent authority in time. Why can't it be processed. 

C) The Secretary of the Department / Ministry shall ensure that all requirements including inter-ministerial consultation are met before submission of proposals for approval under this rule. This fact has to be mentioned in the proposal submitted for approval under Rule 12

 D) The concerned Ministries / Departments in all matters, the Minister in-charge, Finance Minister in matters related to the outflow of funds, and the Minister concerned, whose work involves the subject, approved the proposal through Cabinet Secretary. 

 The origin of the provision is in Article 77 of the Indian Constitution titled "Conduct of the work of the Government of India". This shows that under this article work has been set by the Government of India in relation to its businesses. Clause 3 of the said article states that "The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of business of the Government of India and the allocation among the ministers of the said business". The Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules 1961 has been made under Article 77 (3). The power to make rules of business can be ascertained under the said rule in Article 53, which states that the executive power of the Union shall be exercised directly by the President or by his subordinate officers in accordance with the Constitution and Article 74 (1), Under which they are required to discharge their functions with the help and advice of the Council of Ministers. This means that the decisions of the Government of India are not always taken personally by the President. Decisions can be taken by the concerned minister or authorized officer under the rules of business decided by the President under Article 77 (3). It has been said in many cases that if all decisions are taken by the President or even by the Ministers, then the functioning of the government will stop. 

Article 77 (3) of the Constitution makes two provisions for better administration: 1. Empower the President to implement the rules of transactions for the smooth conduct of government business; 2) The rules made under provision (1) of allocation of the said business among ministers are the rules of business relating to administration. Authorized officers under these rules are able to take decisions on behalf of the ministers concerned. The minister has control of the overall business undertaken by the department, but in practice most decisions are taken by authorized officials. The work is approved through the signature of the minister. A full reading of the rules in the draft rules giving the Prime Minister special powers will make it clear that the rules are mostly related to the operation of ministries. It prescribes rules for efficient functioning within the Ministry for better administration and redress of issues. It is also involved in matters of the second schedule which require the approval of the Cabinet, e.g., issues of ordinances, cases where differences of opinion arise between two or more, desired decisions of the Cabinet, by the Cabinet in the past.

On one of these rules, Rule 12 of the TOB states: Rule 12 states: "Deviations from the rules — the Prime Minister in any case or classes of cases, the Prime Minister, to the extent necessary, to allow or ignore deviations from the rules. Can give orders. The sentence "to the extent necessary" is the discretion of the Prime Minister. These are the conditions of excessive urgency or unexpected contingency in a particular case to the Prime Minister. Gives the right to allow or ignore deviations from the rules to the extent necessary for the disposal of the Act. In the case of Maharashtra, the Governor shall act in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 163 (2) in the absence of any Government.  Therefore, the Governor's report According to, President's rule was implemented in Maharashtra. The proposal was to be sent by the Union Cabinet to repeal President's rule in Maharashtra. However, the Central Government by passed the requirement of a Cabinet meeting to be held before the President's rule was withdrawn. Exercised special power under Rule 12 of the TOB, 1961.

Maharashtra floor test: Supreme court will pronounce verdict on Tuesday

The Supreme Court reserved its verdict till Tuesday after hearing the arguments of all the parties on Monday for the second consecutive day on a petition filed by the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress against the Governor's decision to invite the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra. The Supreme Court will pronounce its decision in this case at 10.30 am on Tuesday. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjeev Khanna heard the case for the second consecutive day on Monday. In a special hearing on Sunday, the court had directed the Center to produce documents of correspondence between Fadnavis and the Governor of Maharashtra at 10.30 am on Monday. The Solicitor General told the court that he had submitted both the letters to the court - one by Devendra Fadnavis to show support to the Governor and claim to form the government and another by the Governor to invite him to form the government. The SG said that in a letter submitted to the Governor on November 22 by NCP leader Ajit Pawar, he promised the support of the entire 54 MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party. The letter mentioned that Pawar was the head of the NCP  Party. 

The SG read the letter sent to the Governor by Fadnavis, acknowledging that he had the support of 170 MLAs including 54 NCP MLAs. SG Mehta said, "The Governor acted before them on the basis of material. The court cannot question their discretion." He made it clear at the outset that he was appearing for the Governor's Secretary, as the Governor could not be called as a party in judicial proceedings. Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Court, while hearing on Sunday, had directed the Central Government to present a letter of support given to the Governor in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on Sunday directed the Central Government to present the letter of support in the court at 10.30 am on Monday, on the basis of which the Governor of Maharashtra decided to invite BJP to form the government. 

Solicitor General Mehta's 3 main arguments:

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta handed over the letter of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to the Supreme Court.

On floor test: Tushar Mehta asked whether the decision of the Governor can be challenged in any petition under Article 32? The Governor waited till 9 November. When asked by the Shiv Sena on the 10th, it refused to form the government. On 11 November, NCP also refused. Subsequently, President's rule was imposed.

On the credibility of Ajit's letter of support: The letter to the Governor of Ajit Pawar had the signature of 54 MLAs. Ajit had described himself as the leader of the NCP  Party in the letter. The governor did not need to examine the letter he had received. The decision to call Fadnavis for government formation was taken on the basis of the documents placed before him.

On opposition's demand for early assembly session: Of course floor test is the best, but no party can say that floor test should be done within 24 hours. Give us two or three days to file the reply. Pro-tem cannot interfere in assembly processes like election of speaker. The court cannot ask the governor to conduct a floor test within 24 hours. The Governor has given 14 days for this. It should be 7 days justified.

4 major arguments of Fadnavis's lawyer Rohatgi:

On government formation: Mukul Rohatgi said- Shiv Sena, which was with BJP in alliance before the election, left after the results. Subsequently, President's rule was imposed. Fadnavis later received a letter of support from the NCP. So he went to the Governor with the support of 170 MLAs. President's rule was lifted and Fadnavis was sworn in.

On NCP break: One Pawar (Ajit) is with us, one (Sharad) is with the opposition. There must have been some family dispute between them. It was not a matter of concern for us. On the allegation of misuse of MLA's letter: The current case is different from the Karnataka case of 2018. Here all the documents showing majority before the Governor were present. No one is saying that there was a mess with the signatures of the MLAs. The Governor gave all parties a chance. They made sensible decisions through the documents before them.

On the question of the court proving majority: Justice Khanna asked- Can Fadnavis prove majority today. Rohatgi said- The question is whether the court can give any interim order in this case. Can the court ask for a floor test in a given period of time. Not according to me. Rohatgi asked the court not to do a judicial review of the decision of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Shiv Sena lawyer Sibal's 2 major arguments

On imposing President's rule: Kapil Sibal said- What was the National Emergency to remove President's rule at 5:17 am and administer oath at 8 am? President's rule removed at 5:17 am. It means that everything was settled before 5:17 am.

On floor test: Floor test should be done in 24 hours in assembly. A senior member of the House completed it with a single ballot and videography. All happened in the dark of night. New opportunities are knocking at the door. Allow floor test to take place in daylight.

Petition approved in Supreme Court, hearing against the Governor's decision will be held tomorrow at 11:30 am

The Shiv Sena has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Devendra Fadnavis taking oath as Maharashtra CM and Ajit Pawar as deputy CM. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde reached YV Chavan Center for NCP meeting. NCP is to meet here. Earlier, Dhananjay Munde appeared with Ajit Pawar this morning. On Saturday morning, there was a big upsurge in the politics of Maharashtra. Devendra Fandavis took oath as CM, and Ajit Pawar as Deputy CM. This whole incident happened at a time when the NCP Congress and Shiv Sena had agreed to form a government in the state. BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the BJP has the support of 170 MLAs in the 288-member House.

Present the letter of support in the court, on which the governor invited to form the government, the Supreme Court directs the Center. In an urgent hearing on the legality of the formation of the Maharashtra government, the Supreme Court on Sunday directed the Central Government to present the letter of support to the court on Monday at 10.30 am, on the basis of which the Governor of Maharashtra invited the BJP to form the government.

 A Bench of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjeev Khanna ordered: "The issue is that the Governor's decision to invite him to form the government on 23/11/19 is unconstitutional. On this issue, we Solicitor General Tushar Mehta Request that they present two letters by 10.30 am tomorrow. " A three-judge bench of Justices NV Ramana, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Sanjiv Khanna heard the petition filed by the Governor in Maharashtra against inviting the BJP to form the government at 11.30 am on Sunday and issued notice to the Center to the Governor's letter Directed to appear before the court on Monday in which BJP was invited to form the government. At the same time, the Supreme Court has also asked to present the letter of Chief Minister Devendra Fandavis in which he claimed to prove majority. The Supreme Court will next hear the case at 11.30 am on Monday. In the Supreme Court, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the Governor's dramatic decision to invite the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra, hearing on which will continue on Monday.

Shiv Sena's argument Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, on behalf of Shiv Sena, argued that the Governor's invitation to the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government is unconstitutional and there is no record of this action, everything was done in haste. Sibal also questioned the removal of President's rule from Maharashtra overnight. Sibal demanded the apex court to give both the parties a chance to prove their majority in the House at the earliest. On behalf of the BJP, Mukul Rahtogi said that political parties cannot directly come to the Supreme Court, they should have gone to the High Court first. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, while presenting the arguments on behalf of the NCP, said that Ajit Pawar is no longer the leader of the Legislature Party and has sent a letter to the Governor in this regard.

Four "P" of Public Policy

India became Open Defecation Free nation on October 2, 2019. In such a situation, it is an appropriate time to analyze how the Swachh Bharat Mission has become the global standard for participation and transformational development. Mahatma Gandhi dreamed of an India where no one has to face insult to defecate in the open. The work done by the country in the field of cleanliness in the last five years is an excellent tribute to Gandhiji. India, which had the highest number of open defecationers, is today leading the world in terms of cleanliness. Prime Minister tries to connect with people at ground level and understand their needs. The cleanliness revolution we are witnessing today is the result of his inspirational leadership. The world recognizes this, and the Goble Goalkeeper Award, given to Narendra Modi during his recent visit to America, reflects his decision to put cleanliness at the heart of India's development agenda.

The Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen Team has identified four important pillars of India's cleanliness revolution in the last five years which, together, can be applicable for any large-scale change in the world. A compilation of "Swachh Bharat Kranti" essays published by the Department of Drinking Water, Sanitation and Water Resources, has also followed, in a detailed way, the four-P structure, which is a successful journey of implementation of the flagship program.

The first "P" is related to political leadership ie political leadership. It is essentially a game changer for the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, under which the Prime Minister has introduced his personal political skills. Inspired by his leadership and commitment, various Chief Ministers contributed to this campaign, which had a wide impact. Its great influence from the Chief Secretary and Collectors to the grass roots Sarpanchs. About all levels leaders became major catalysts of scale change.

Second "P" is related to public financing i.e. government financing. Generally, no major change is possible without money. A provision of Rs 1 lakh crore was made to ensure everyone's access to sanitation facilities, which gave political support to the political mobilization. Nearly 90% of the 10 crore families to whom the toilets were provided were from socially and economically weaker sections and were provided financial assistance to build and use toilets.

The Third "P" is related  with mass partnership. The SBM-G emphasized partnerships between both the actors and the motivators, including national and international level development agencies, media, civil society, celebrities and all the departments / ministries of the Government of India, in their respective fields. With the cooperation of all, this policy made cleanliness the goal of every person, making this campaign a main part of national consciousness.

The fourth "P" i.e. People's Partnership is related with public participation. The SBM -G trained over five lakhs autonomous, grassroots motivators who accelerated the transformation of the practice in every village in India. Ordinary people played an extraordinary role and inspired others to build and use toilet. Success stories of cleanliness champions came from every nook and corner of the country. Change in scale can actually be successful if it is embedded in people's imagination and thus it can become a mass movement.

The Economy of Cleanliness and Dignity of Cleaners

Cleanliness emerged as economy: Recently in India, cleanliness emerged as important sector in terms of economy with huge potential. Cleanliness Economy does not mean to create toilets only rather it includes availability of clean drinking water, disposal of garbage and to convert that into useful resources. Along with economy, cleanliness in itself  has become a matter related with health, consuming goods, agriculture, new and innovative energy which can play an important role in creating employment in India as well as in World. In India, many things have contributed toward cleanliness economy like Swachh Bharat Mission, Jat shakti Abhiyan and ban on single use of plastic. These missions have vision to provide fundamental cleanliness in the country and to provide clean drinking water in every village by way of pipelines. According to report of Toilet Board Coalition, it is estimated that in India 32 Million Dollar  has been spent in 2017 in making of toilets. In coming future our cleanliness economy will grow and this statistics is enough to corroborate this.

Dignity of Sweepers:

The cleaners or sweepers are the persons who play most important in making these visions successful but these workers especially Manual Scavengers are considered social stigma because of their work. To remove this social stigma there are many steps taken by the Government so that they can also live dignified life. 

(a) An end of manual scavenging Legal Protection to manual scavengers: Cleaners are categorised into two categories i.e., sweepers and manual scavengers. In this manual scavengers work in hazardous circumstances. While cleaning toilets, Septic tanks and railway tracks they have to go through  bad conditions in terms of health and safety. Legislature has enacted a law named " The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013" in order to remove this social stigma.

(b) Minimum wages, safe work environment and pension benefits: To fix minimum wages of cleaners, the Ministry of Labour and Employment had introduces Wage Bill Code 2019 which got assent of President on 8 August 2019. By this Wages Act 2019, cleaners will be benefited and their income level will also increase.

(c) Shelter, Education, Financial support: Rural Development Ministry under Indra Awas Yojana gives fund for construction of new house, repairing of old houses and funds for education of children of cleaners.

(d) Protection of cleaners by Ayushman Bharat Yojana: Prime Minister launched a policy in 2018 in order to improve living and health standards of cleaners and other underprivileged citizens. More than 10.74 crores people are beneficiaries of PMJAY and  under this policy Rupees 5 lakhs insurance policy is given.

Path towards Reconstruction of the Nation

In many modern movement creative programs are overlooked. Still, there are some ways for reconstruction of the Nation and over all development of society.

1) Communal Unity: Peace and Communal harmony is backbone of any Nation and it is foundation of development. Dr. Rajendra Prasad had said: "It can be immediately believed that current communal partition is result of doubt and mistrust. It has poisoned  nation life in a manner that every thing like religion, language, culture, education, financial freedom and politics have come under the frame of doubt and corruption. Mutual belief will come only when we will stop imposing our belief on others irrespective of their will."

2) Elimination of Untouchability: Untouchability is the biggest form of systematic violence and it is show of toughness. In modern India the tradition of untouchability in its various parts is matter of shame. 

3) Village Industries: To engage Rural labour in Economic activities village industries play important role by which village economy constantly grows. 

4) Primary Education: Education is backbone of our culture. By way of education people will be aware of their rights, environment, use of natural resources, water management, agriculture, farming etc.,

5) Regional Language: There should be focused on regional language in education system. Students should be encouraged to study in their regional language. Our mindset to give priority to English language over our mother tongue has created a huge gap between common people and so called intellectual class of people.

6) Economic Similarity: Economic similarity is the key of nation building. True meaning of economic similarity is to curve the gap between rich and poor. The parameter of development should be in such a manner that every poor of the country becomes capable of basic needs. 

7) Student's Empowerment: Students are the future of country. They will be future politicians, industrialists, law makers, administrators. Unfortunately, there is no road map for overall development of students. In this technical world, they have shifted towards online sources and human communication has changed into online mode of communication. It is required to centralize the attraction of youth towards social and economic development of nation.