Modi may prioritise labour reform if he wins polls, says party

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could make labour reforms, cleared by parliament in 2020, a priority if he wins the upcoming general elections as widely expected, a spokesperson for his party said on Tuesday.

Opinion polls suggest Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will easily win the next general election due by May, as an opposition alliance struggles to stay together.

Modi said last week he would take “big decisions” in any next term to end poverty and accelerate economic development, but did not give specifics.

“Labour codes need to be notified. It’s necessary, we will do it,” BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said, referring to an official notification announcing implementation.

“Continuous reforms are required to become an economic power and assume global leadership.”

But Harbhajan Singh, general secretary of trade union Hind Mazdoor Sabha, said it would protest any attempt to make India’s labour laws “pro-employer instead of pro-labour”.

“We realise that they are waiting for the elections to get over to implement these,” he said. “But we will hold nationwide protests in the coming days against the government’s anti-labour policies.”