 Welcome to NewsClick. While Delhi burnt there was a toxic media war raging over between people with opposite views on social media and other media platforms. But the tragic outcome of that debate was it resulted in some entrepreneurs deciding to sack employees who held opinions which were critical of CAA, NRC and NPR. In fact one entrepreneur Barkha Trehan quite proudly in a message said that two Muslims employees have shared anti-CAA posts, I have fired them both with immediate effect. This received 50,000 likes and in fact many who wrote there took oaths that they would follow what Barkha had done and sack any employee who expressed any critical opinion of CAA. To discuss this in terms of not just employees rights in an age where employers can hire and fire anybody at drop of a hat but also the larger implication of our constitutional right to free speech. We have Paranjoy Guha Thakur da, my colleague in NewsClick. Welcome Paranjoy. Let me start by posing this simple question. Now it's true that Barkha Trehan sacked the two employees but as a result of that some of the comments were pretty interesting but two people took a more sober line. One was Harsh Gowinka of RPG who came out and said that this is unfair, that you can't sack anybody for their personal opinion and the other was the managing director of TVS Capital Mr. Gopal Srinivasan who said that it is illegal to fire employees for political views. Although he added that like religion, politics should also be a private matter. Paranjoy what do you have to say to this? You know Gautam as you rightly pointed out, the atmosphere prevailing in the country has been poisoned. This woman Barkha Trehan who incidentally describes herself as an activist, as a social activist who runs her own event management business and is associated with an organization called Save Indian Family Movement. But of course this movement later said we have nothing to do with her. But what is interesting is what she said, no matter Muslim or Hindu if you are against CAA stroke, NPR stroke, NRC I won't employ you in my company. Now not only did she get people who supported her, these social media warriors but what is also interesting is that there were people who actually came out and supported the employees and there was at least one person says I will employ you. But what this woman Barkha Trehan epitomizes is how a section of the population, urban, calls themselves elite, I would say the elite employers, how their minds have been completely poisoned. As a private employer it's your choice who you wish to hire or you don't wish to hire. But as you rightly pointed out, we have an article 191A in the Constitution of India which says the right to free expression is a fundamental right. You also have article 192 which imposes what are called reasonable restrictions on the right to free speech. Now the problem has always been how do you interpret what is reasonable or not. You know whether it deals with friendly relations with neighbors, but this stacking is manifestly arbitrary and illegal. But she would claim, she would claim, I'm just playing devil's advocate. She would say I am an employer. I decide who I employ or not. But as Mr. Harsh Gowankan, I'm happy at least he's spoken up and Mr. Srinivasan, this is a very very important point. The point is, has your personal views, what are there on politics, on a law in parliament? Has it affected your work as an employee? Or are you being sacked mainly or only because you hold a political view which is different to that of your employer? So I think it's a very fit case for these two employees to move the labour court and say that they have been unfairly removed and arbitrarily removed. And I think once you make it a test case, the point is a bigger issue and that the way the social media has been utilised to spread propaganda, hate speech and how such a large section of India has today come, become a part of that. I mean you have 90 crore voters and you have 40 crore users on WhatsApp. The reason I'm raising this question is that well, as far as the industrial relations act is concerned or industrial disputes act is concerned or other labour laws are concerned, I think it's very clear that you can't fire anybody without issuing them a notice and this would be, if it is challenged, it may fall. One is the legal aspects. And then we don't know what kind of employment they had. No, it looks manifestly illegal on the face of it because without notice and she has a self-explanation. If you are an employer and you describe them as an employee, yes. But the greater worry is that in an atmosphere where an employer has decided to be the champion of government's line of thinking, he or she feels that they are empowered to treat their employees any which way they like. So if they dislike their views that they express, they'll be sacked. Although their views have no, I mean anything expressed in their private domain ought not to concern anybody. But this person has decided that it is her concern. It is that which is rather worrying that the right of the employer seems to take away the rights which the constitution gives us for the employees. And every citizen and not just employees. I completely agree with you. What is of great concern is that this kind of behavior is now seen or perceived to be acceptable. It's one thing to say I'm an employer and it receives accolades. That's right. It's one thing to say I'm an employer. You're my employee. So, you know, I am the boss. I do what I want to. But more importantly, and what is particularly pernicious is the reason. It's that you, just because you're my employee and I'm your employer, I'm also dictating to you and implicitly that's the message. What you can think? What you can think? What should be your political views? What you should support? What you should oppose? Which is a terrible, terrible thing that is happening. We describe ourselves as a democracy. We describe ourselves, India as the world's largest democracy. We have these provisions in the constitution. I mean, these are fundamental rights. These are basic foundational rights on every citizen. Now, if this is happening, if this is the level of intolerance among people who are supposed to be a part of the elite, can you imagine how less privileged people are today suffering? I mean, today what we have seen in Delhi, in the national capital, terrible. I mean, as an Indian, I'm ashamed to say that I am here. I live in this national capital where over 40 people have been brutally murdered and this number may very well go up. For only one reason, they have a particular, I mean, they subscribe to a particular religious faith. And I think this has really, I mean, we have to understand why there's so much agitation, not just among the Muslims. Because this whole Citizenship Amendment Act, this whole national register of citizens and the national population register, it struck a chord in young people and among the minorities that they've reached a stage where they're not willing to take any more of this. What I would describe as fascist kind of, the state acting in a fascist manner. But what about the corporates now? Yes. Now they believe the corporates are now believing that we should be coutoing before the government. One Rahul Bajaj has the guts to tell Amit Shah on his face that my fellow industrialists are scared of telling you but they're all worried. And I'll tell you why. Because this government, more than others, it's not that previous governments didn't, they have used law enforcing agencies to target those who disagree with them, including industrialists, whether it be the income tax department, whether it be the central bureau of investigation, whether it be the enforcement director. But they can't take the wrought out on employees because they disagree with them. Absolutely. It just tells you, I mean, it just... The shrinking. The reflection of the times. The intolerance that has pervaded large sections of Indian society. And how people who consider themselves to be, you know, a part of the privileged section, how even their minds have become poisoned. Narrow minded here. Poisoned. Thank you Paranjoy. That's all for today. Keep watching NewsClick.