In a political converging point that happens rarely, both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have received the recent Supreme Court order on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with open arms, terming it as a “victory of the rural poor” and a “reminder of the government’s responsibility to its people.
The supreme court, in its order, put focus on timely disbursal of wages under MGNREGA and adequate utilization of funds to provide rural families with hassle-free employment. For lakhs of workers in India, especially in the case of West Bengal, the judgment has been a ray of hope following months of distress with delayed payments and freezing of funds.
TMC leaders, long critical of the Centre on non-disbursal of MGNREGA funds to Bengal, welcomed the judgment as a “moral victory for the rural workforce of the state.” A top TMC leader claimed, “For more than two years, our workers have been denied their legitimate wages.”. The Supreme Court reaffirmed that livelihood can never be politicized. The party feels that the ruling supports their position that central schemes must not be used for the purpose of political leverage.
CPI(M), though sharing similar views, used the moment to also raise the issue of the deeper crisis of rural distress. The leaders of the party said that the judgment reveals the Centre’s lack of concern for the rights of workers. “This is not Bengal-specific. Rural India has been in distress because of the apathy of the Centre. The court’s remark is a wake-up call,” a CPI(M) leader said.
The Supreme Court directive has triggered new political controversy but relieved millions who survive on the MGNREGA. In Bengal’s villages, where employment under the scheme is often equated with rice on the plate, the judgment is reviving hope.
Politically for once, lines appear to blur as ruling and opposition parties unite in recognizing what the court termed the “right to dignified livelihood.”
