Communist Party of India-(Marxist) MP V Sivadasan has given a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under rule 267 and demanded a discussion on the reduction in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) work in July.
"I hereby give notice under rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States of my intention to move the following motion for suspension of Business Rule on August 1, 2022," wrote Sivadasan to Rajya Sabha Speaker.
The CPIM leader wrote, "There is an overall attack on the MGNREGS from the Union Government with reduced allocation for this year despite high demand for work. All this is happening when MNREGA has proved its worth in providing employment in rural India, especially during the pandemic. The demand is very much high especially due to the return of migrant workers to villages caused by the pandemic."
"For the prolonged periods of unemployment and back-breaking price rises, MGNREGA could be used to help the situation by providing employment to the rural unemployed. This is high time to extend MNREGA into urban areas but the Union Government is assisting the corporates in looting the resources of the country and has different priorities. This is sheer apathy on the part of the Central Government to the plight of rural masses," he said.
"Against this, the MNREGA workers of the country are observing a strike today. Hence, it is requested to suspend the rules under rule 267 and discuss the matter on the 1st August 202," he wrote.
Demand for jobs under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MG-NREGS) from both households as well as individuals fell to the lowest level in the current fiscal in July, according to provisional figures released by the Central government.
Meanwhile, the Monsoon Session of Parliament began on July 18 and will continue till August 12.
On July 26, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla suspended four Congress members for the rest of the monsoon session for unruly behaviour and disrupting the proceedings of the House. The suspended MPs, along with other opposition members, were protesting with placards and shouting slogans against price rise and ignored repeated warnings from the Speaker. The four suspended Congress MPs are Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, Jothimani and TN Prathapan.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor