Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: MGNREGA will be the opposition’s principal issue to target the Modi govt during the budget session of Parliament, with its demand for the rural job scheme’s restoration likely to trigger stormy exchanges in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.Opposition INDIA bloc, which held a coordination meeting in the chamber of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday ahead of the start of the session, also decided to fully participate in the session which includes the Union budget and the Motion of Thanks to the President’s joint address. The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is another issue on the opposition’s agenda.In the strategy discussions, attended by Rahul Gandhi, DMK’s TR Baalu, RSP’s NK Premachandran, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, SP’s Javed Ali Khan, CPM’s John Brittas, CPI’s P Sandosh, Congress’s KC Venugopal, Kodikunnil Suresh, Manickam Tagore, RJD’s Prem Chand Gupta, among others, the leaders decided to mark their protest over the job scheme as President Droupadi Murmu in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday mentioned VB-GRAMG that will replace MGNREGA. TMC did not attend the discussions.When the President’s speech mentioned the VB-GRAMG scheme, opposition MPs stood up and raised slogans. While the action riled the govt into slamming the opposition, Congress’s Jairam Ramesh said, “Today during the President’s address, all opposition parties most respectfully and in a dignified manner protested the bulldozed repeal of MGNREGA. The opposition will use all democratic means to demand the restoration of MGNREGA.”If the statement made clear the opposition’s intent to make the job scheme the front and centre of its parliamentary agenda, the same scenes may be witnessed during the presentation of the Union budget.The reason behind the focus on MGNREGA seems to be the upcoming five assembly elections and the unanimity among the parties on the issue. The belief among the opposition parties is that the disbanding of the job scheme poses a serious threat to the availability of distress employment for the poor in the future because of the shifting of a considerable financial burden on the states under VB-GRAMG.Since the subject would automatically become part of the discussion on the Union budget and then also figure in debate on the motion of thanks, it would provide ample opportunity to the rivals to amplify concerns and target BJP.However, there is some uncertainty in the INDIA bloc over its decision to focus on MGNREGA and to participate in the session, in view of what TMC may do after it comes to Parliament in the coming days, after the initial absence. The Mamata Banerjee outfit has in the past forced the hands of other allies with independent action.
