Regrets, Only. Congress Blunders On Child Labour Law, Regroups

New Delhi: When parliament passed a controversial new law that allows children under 14 to work in a family business, the opposition Congress made no noteworthy speech objecting to a policy criticized by activists and UNICEF and rigorously questioned by even BJP law-maker Varun Gandhi, who said parts of the law amount to "lunacy."

The Congress' non-performance has provoked it to act on a decision reported last month by NDTV - a new committee that will decide the party's stand on all important issues both in parliament and outside.

When the Child Labour Amendment Bill was debated and cleared by the Rajya Sabha last week, most senior Congress leaders were reportedly missing which meant the party forfeited the chance to defeat the proposal even in the Upper House, where the Congress has the most members and the government is in a minority.

A Congress MP who asked not to be named complained about the minimal coordination. "As Lok Sabha MPs, we have no idea what our MPs in the Rajya Sabha are doing. In one house, we walk out (in protest) against a bill. In the other house, we will do nothing."

The government has defended the decision to allow some forms of labour after school hours or during vacations, saying some children needed to learn traditional skills and that families needed a helping hand and that hazardous jobs remain off-limits ,a point disputed by Nobel Laureate and child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.

Mr Satyarthi had flagged his concerns to the Congress when it was last in power - so its failure to make a point in parliament is especially glaring.

To avoid other blunders, the new Congress team which includes former uinion ministers P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, and Anand Sharma will meet regularly to firm up the party's plan. As with all other matters in the Congress, the party's top two leaders, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, will then be approached for approval before the party line is shared with its members of parliament.