Congress MP KC Venugopal speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session of the Parliament, in New Delhi on March 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI/Sansad TV
Congress MP K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday (March25, 2025) claimed that there is a “hidden agenda” in the government’s attempt to draw a distinction between pensioners through an amendment in the Finance Bill, 2025.
Making an intervention during the discussion on the Bill in the Lok Sabha, he also raised the issue of MGNREGA workers not getting their pay for months.
Mr. Venugopal, who represents Kerala’s Alappuzha constituency, said he wished to bring these “hidden agendas” to the notice of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He asked the government to clarify the underlying motive behind the proposed amendment in the Finance Bill which states that the Union government shall have the authority to establish distinctions among pensioners as a general principle.
The far-reaching implications of this decision warrant a clear explanation, he said, especially since it has been introduced as a separate amendment, rather than being included within the Finance Bill itself. “Why this roundabout approach? Why with retrospective effect? The government must provide a detailed clarification,” he said.
Development Budget cuts
The Congress MP also highlighted the plight of people dependent on MGNREGA, noting that workers have not received their wages under the scheme for the past four months, and many are deprived of pension and other benefits.
He also highlighted “alarming” cuts in the Union Budget allocations for various sectors including health, education, and social welfare. “The government has slashed a total of ₹1,04,025 crore in overall expenditure, including cuts of ₹1,255 crore in the health sector, ₹11,584 crore in the education sector, and ₹10,019 crore in social welfare. Agricultural, rural and urban development have similarly seen significant fund reductions,” he said.
MGNREGA wage delays
Earlier, before the Parliament convened for the day, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Kerala MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had demonstrated outside the Parliament building over the alleged neglect of MGNREGA workers, demanding an increase in their wages to cope with “rising inflation”.
Ms. Vadra, the Congress MP from Wayanad, said that the government’s inaction has left millions of families without livelihoods, worsening their poverty and suffering. “We demand immediate attention to this crisis and justice for affected workers who are struggling to make ends meet in the absence of wages that are long overdue,” she said. “The government must ensure: immediate release of pending wages; increase in wages to cope with rising inflation; increase in workdays to 150 days,” she added.
Published – March 25, 2025 08:35 pm IST