New Delhi, May 14 (IANS): The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour has sought information from a slew of states which have diluted all major provisions of the labour laws. Recently, many states have passed ordinances in order to woo new businesses in their states in the aftermath of the pan-India lockdown to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Senior Biju Janata Dal MP and Chairman of the Committee, Bhartruhari Mahtab, confirmed the news to IANS. However, he declined that any report has been sought from the respective states.

While BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa and Gujarat have been asked to share 'information' on what provisions have been diluted and why, Congress ruled Rajasthan and Punjab too have received similar demands from the Parliamentary panel.

What's interesting is that he hasn't spared Odisha either, where his own party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is in power.

Mahtab told IANS that the reason for demanding the information from concerned states is to understand the correlation between booming of industry and dilution of labour rights.

However, it came as a surprise to many as Mahtab had batted for the industry a few weeks ago, saying that industries cannot be forced to pay during the lockdown.

Mahtab, in one of his reports, had recommended that "in case of natural calamities, payment of wages to the workers until the re-establishment of the industry may be unjustifiable".