New Delhi: A bitter feud broke out between the Opposition and the Treasury in the Lok Sabha Tuesday over the delay in payment of central funds to states under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, with Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee calling Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan a ‘dalal‘ for the rich outside the Parliament while accusing the Centre of discriminating against West Bengal.
After a heated debate on the issue in the House, the TMC, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and Congress MPs from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala held protests outside the Parliament, accusing the Centre of delaying the MGNREGA payments to only the Opposition-ruled states. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were also part of the protests.
It all started during Question Hour when TMC MP Bapi Haldar questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre’s delay in payment, urging the release of MGNREGA funds to Bengal as soon as possible. “Deserving workers,” he said, “had been waiting for their money for several months.”
In response, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Rural Development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar accused the TMC-led West Bengal government of misusing MGNREGA funds for other works. Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan defended him, saying that Bengal had received more MGNREGA funds from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government than the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
The Centre has not released MGNREGA funds to West Bengal since 9 March 2022, alleging widespread irregularity in the scheme’s implementation. After a 2023 writ petition, the Calcutta High Court formed a four-member committee on 18 April 2024 to verify the past work done in Bengal under MGNREGA. With the inquiry underway, the Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka-led Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (2024-25), earlier this month, asked the Centre to release the Bengal funds immediately.
On Tuesday, the MoS said, “Of Rs 86,000 crore allocated for MNREGA, the Centre has already released Rs 85,000 crore.” “In West Bengal,” he said, “there were reports of fund misappropriation, including irregularities in 44 works and discrepancies of Rs 5.7 crore. The state has recovered only Rs 2.39 crore from 34 works, but the Centre would clear the remaining funds once the state has resolved all discrepancies.”
The MoS also addressed concerns raised by TMC members about the low MNREGA wages, Rs 250 for one person-day of work, saying that the Centre had already increased the wages, according to the Consumer Price Index.
However, even the Ulaka-led parliamentary standing committee earlier recommended the Centre revise wage rates to capture the impact of inflation on rural wages and implement a uniform wage rate in India.
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‘Will the Centre pay interest on the delayed funds?’
In addition to the TMC, Kerala MP Adoor Prakash from Congress raised the issue of delayed MGNREGA payments, claiming that “Rs 811 crore of the funds for Kerala had been pending for the last six months”. The MP also flagged the low wages.
The MoS responded: “Kerala received Rs 3,000 crore this year and Rs 3,500 crore the previous year under MNREGA, with the remaining funds to be released soon.” As for the low wages, he mentioned that, after Haryana, the Kerala MGNREGA wages were the second-highest in the country.
Along with the TMC and the Congress, DMK leader Kanimozhi took a jab at the Centre, questioning the delay in releasing Rs 4,034 crore in MGNREGA funds for Tamil Nadu over the last five months. She also asked: “Will the Centre pay interest on the delayed funds?”
Responding, the MoS said the Act provided interest on delayed payments, promising the funds would soon be released.
The MoS added: “Tamil Nadu, with a population of 7 crore, received Rs 10,000 crore. Uttar Pradesh, with a population of over 20 crore, received Rs 10,000 crore, as well.”
However, his remark comparing Tamil Nadu to Uttar Pradesh did not sit well with the Opposition, sparking outrage among the DMK and other members, who gathered in the well of the House to protest.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan came to his defence, saying the Union government would clear all MGNREGA dues. Stressing that the Modi government did not discriminate between states, he said, “West Bengal received Rs 14,985 crore from 2006 to 2014 under the UPA and [a higher amount] Rs 54,515 crore under the NDA.”
‘Shivraj Chouhan is against the Bengali people’
Outside the Parliament, the Opposition leaders protested against the perceived partisan attitude of the central government.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee accused Shivraj Singh Chouhan of discriminating against West Bengal, saying, “We have been saying that central funds, due to West Bengal, should be given to the state. Shivraj Chouhan is against the Bengali people. They (the Centre) have been trying to form a government in West Bengal, but they will not succeed.”
“They are doing nothing for the poor masses. Shivraj Chouhan is a ‘dalal’ for the rich and never worked for the poor in Madhya Pradesh,” he added.
Kalyan Banerjee is not new to making controversial statements. His video mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on the Parliament premises went viral in 2023. When Dhankhar was the West Bengal Governor, Banerjee abused him, calling him the “sweeper of BJP”.
In fewer words, DMK MP Kanimozhi also expressed her dissatisfaction with the Centre. “Funds for Tamil Nadu have been pending, over Rs 4,034 crore for the last five months, and we have not received a proper response.”
“Ministers confirm the release of funds, but when the demand is more, they need to release more. For five months, our workers have not received their salary. Our CM even wrote to the PM, requesting him to release the funds. The minister promised the delivery of funds by the first week of April,” she added.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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