Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday questioned the Centre’s decision to exclude West Bengal from a Rajya Sabha response detailing state-wise pending liabilities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Calling the omission “extraordinary, unprecedented, and unacceptable,” on X, Ramesh pointed to a starred question raised by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien in the Upper House regarding pending funds under the rural employment scheme.
O’ Brien’s sought to know whether the number of households registered under MGNREGA rose by 8.6 per cent between the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 even as average days of employment per household fell by 7.1 per cent and average workdays per person dropped by 43 per cent.
He also asked for details of pending funds since 2022 under the wages and material and admin components, state-wise and year-wise.
The MP enquired whether the government was considering an increase in MGNREGA wages and if so, sought further details.
Union minister of rural development Shivraj Singh Chouhan submitted a written reply including a statement on the state and union territory-wise details of pending liabilities under the wage and material component of MGNREGA.
The statement listed data for 33 states and UTs. West Bengal was missing from the list.
Ramesh, who is the Congress general secretary in charge of communications, raised concerns over the exclusion, implying political motives behind the Centre’s decision to withhold Bengal-specific data in Parliament.
Neither the ministry of rural development nor minister Chouhan provided any reason for the omission.
There has been no response from the Trinamool.
