Aruna Roy's decision to end her relationship with the National Advisory Council (NAC) was an unmistakable protest against the precedence given by the United Progressive Alliance government to "pro-growth agenda" over "pro-poor agenda". Her realisation that NAC cannot match the overpowering influence of the corporate forces in policymaking in the government made her bid NAC adieu. Her parting shot that Sonia Gandhi's ability to push through welfare schemes has come down over the years attests that the government is in the control of corporate houses, and not the Congress and its supreme leader. It is the classic case of the surrender of the power of the state to the corporations. With its abject failure to implement inclusive policies and alleviate poverty, the government's claim of being pro-poor lies in tatters. The government, which has given a whopping ~5 lakh crore as tax concessions to the corporate sector, has no money to pay the statutory minimum wages to labourers who do back-breaking work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA). It's a crying shame that the Centre has appealed against the Karnataka High Court's ruling to pay minimum wages prevalent in states to MGNREGA workers.
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G David Milton, Maruthancode
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number