UP Assembly: Cong protests on MGNREGA issue, SP calls out SIR process

Lucknow, Feb 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Budget Session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly is underway amid noisy scenes and repeated disruptions by the opposition INDIA bloc allies -- the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) -- who are pressing separate demands.

Although both parties are allies at the national level under the INDIA bloc umbrella, they have chosen to agitate on different issues in the state.

The Congress has sharpened its attack on the BJP-led state government over alleged dilution and irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), while the SP has concentrated its protests on the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls, claiming that it is being misused to delete voters from backward communities.

On Tuesday, the Congress has planned to stage a 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' outside the Assembly complex to protest what it termed as the undermining of MGNREGA and non-payment of wages to workers.

Speaking to IANS, Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai said, "This gherao of the Legislative Assembly is about the MGNREGA workers not receiving their wages, about destroying the original purpose of MGNREGA, which was enacted in the name of Mahatma Gandhi by the UPA government. It used to provide work to poor people. The poor had the assurance that they would get this 100-day work and could take care of their family and home."

Alleging that the present dispensation was failing the poor, Rai added, "However, the current government is trying to deceive the public, especially the poor. How can a government do this to the poor people? From the Shankaracharya issue to Ahilyabai Holkar to Dalmandi demolition, crimes against women across the state, all these issues add to the corruption. That is why we are protesting today."

Congress MP Kishori Lal Sharma also addressed the gathering and said, "We are holding a 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' today. Workers from all districts are arriving, and some are still on the way. This protest is focused on the 'MGNREGA Bachao' programme."

Sharma criticised the heavy police deployment outside the Congress office in Lucknow and remarked, "It is the police's job to maintain law and order, and it is our job to raise our voice. In a democracy, governments should not be afraid of protests. We have the right to express our views, and the opposition has the right to oppose schemes that are not in the public's interest."

All India Congress Committee General Secretary Avinash Pandey said the agitation had been building for weeks.

Speaking to IANS, he stated, "For the last 40 days, in the whole of the state, through the chaupals, through demonstrations, we have been rallying people on the issue of the complete change of the MGNREGA law, which will snatch away the rights of people. This struggle is going on to get it back."

"Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had also criticised the change in MGNREGA. The way MGNREGA gave rights to the poor, gave them employment... but now all this is being taken away. Till the time the poor of the society are not given benefits as per their rights, our struggle will continue," he further said.

In contrast, the Samajwadi Party trained its focus on the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Review of voter rolls, alleging large-scale misuse of Form 7 to delete names of poor, Dalit and Adivasi (PDA) voters.

The party has distanced itself from the Congress' MGNREGA agitation, choosing instead to prioritise electoral roll concerns ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

SP MLA Anil Pradhan told IANS, "The Samajwadi Party national leadership has been continuously raising SIR irregularities from time to time. The question is, when over-mapping has already been done and all names have been cleared, what is the purpose of Form 7? It is being seen on a large scale across Uttar Pradesh that BJP members are continuously misusing Form 7."

"Our national president, Akhilesh Yadav, has repeatedly raised this issue before the ECI. However, the election body has not given any proper response so far," he added.

SP MLA Sachin Yadav, speaking to IANS, said, "To highlight the misuse of Form 7, we will go to the Election Commission today and submit a memorandum stating that the misuse of Form 7 must be stopped. Continuous reports are coming from every area where the votes of people belonging to the PDA community are being deleted."

Source: IANS