00:00 Namaskar, welcome to another episode of editorial.
00:05 Today I have a very important editorial to talk to you.
00:10 7500 crores of rupees is pending towards West Bengal for Mannerega.
00:18 Now not paying Mannerega, Centre not paying a state for Mannerega has very serious ramification
00:26 on the people of that particular state and that's what I am going to talk to you about.
00:30 So today's editorial is very important.
00:33 Let's go right into the show.
00:38 You know before I talk to you about today's editorial, let me put things into perspective.
00:45 And the best way to put things into perspective is through a story.
00:51 Now long long ago there was this king.
00:54 This king, he built huge palaces, huge palaces, huge darbar halls.
01:06 He told the people, listen, you know what, it is important, it is a true nationalism
01:14 to build huge palaces and huge darbar hall.
01:16 You know why?
01:18 Because if I build huge palaces and huge darbar hall, the whole world will think that we are
01:25 prosperous, we are superpower.
01:29 The king told his subjects and a lot of subjects believe in it.
01:36 The king then bought a rath, rath is a chariot.
01:41 The king bought a rath and he put diamonds and emeralds into that rath.
01:46 A diamond emerald studded rath he bought.
01:50 And he told his subjects, he said, listen, subjects, if your king roams around in a diamond
01:56 studded rath, the whole world will see our prosperity.
02:01 The whole world will respect us, will fall at our feet.
02:06 So it is for nationalism, it is my nationalist feeling that God made me buy this rath.
02:12 The subjects believed it.
02:18 Now what really happened were two things.
02:22 One is builders, architects, jewelers who are the rich in the community started getting
02:33 more richer because they were building these huge palaces and huge darbar halls.
02:40 The jewelers were providing with emerald and diamond and ruby and so on and so forth.
02:46 So these rich started getting richer and richer and richer.
02:51 But where was this money coming from?
02:56 This money was coming from the taxes of the poor peasants.
03:01 And the fact is because all the money were put in darbars and in raths, the farmers were
03:08 not given money.
03:10 They were not helped when their crops drowned in flood or the rains didn't show up in their
03:16 farms.
03:17 They were not helped.
03:20 So the poor started getting poorer and the rich started getting richer.
03:27 And this divide started growing and growing and growing and growing.
03:34 This is what happened to that kingdom.
03:40 Now let me come to the topic of hand and I will try and juxtapose what I just said to
03:46 what I am going to say.
03:49 See 7500 crores is what according to the state government and according to reports, 7500
03:59 crores is what West Bengal is owed by the central government for Manreka.
04:06 So they have not paid for Manreka.
04:08 Central government has not paid for Manreka.
04:10 Out of this 7500 crores, 2762 crores are payment for the people who worked, the farmers, the
04:23 rural population, the daily workers, the lowest strata of the society.
04:28 They were not paid 2762 crores.
04:34 You see, the fund freeze is lying heavy on the lives of 13 million Manreka workers in
04:42 the state, many of whom are awaiting the wages from 2021.
04:46 Since 2021, they have not been paid.
04:53 Now I will tell you why Manreka is so important.
04:55 Let us first understand what Manreka is.
04:58 Manreka earlier on was called the National Rural Employment Act.
05:01 It was called NREGA.
05:02 Later on, it got changed to Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Act, Manreka.
05:09 This act was instituted, enacted in September 2005.
05:15 And what this act does is this act is regarded as the Indian labor law and social security
05:21 measure that targets to guarantee people of India the right to work, the right to work.
05:29 Manreka, the act aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least
05:36 100 days of wages in 365 days, at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year
05:43 to every household whose adult member volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
05:52 100 days of labor is guaranteed to every adult in a family, which means the husband and the
06:01 wife can go to work.
06:03 If they have an adult son, he can go to work too.
06:05 If they have an adult daughter, she can go to work too.
06:10 So if four people in a family are working, then 400 days of wages for that family is
06:15 guaranteed right to work.
06:23 You see, why Manreka is important, why am I talking to you about this subject is because,
06:27 you see, I have seen with my own eyes when farmers, when farmers struggle with their
06:36 produce, because of famine, because of floods, because of other reasons like insects, when
06:44 they struggle with their produce, Manreka comes in as an angel from heaven for them.
06:52 Because that ensures that they don't get luxuries, they don't live a great life, but at least
06:57 they get two square meals and for a farmer, that's a big thing, believe me you.
07:02 That's a big thing, that's that one string that holds them from committing suicide.
07:10 That's why Manreka is important.
07:13 So when Manreka is visited with, when Manreka is visited with, one gets very concerned because
07:22 that's what makes, that's the only social security we are giving the poor people of
07:26 this country.
07:28 And if you play with that social security, even that goes.
07:31 Now I will give you some more detail.
07:33 Let me get into some more detail as always.
07:35 According to people there, they say that the central government is in sense pushing the
07:39 workers into destitution, ill health, starvation by stopping wages for 18 months for no fault
07:46 of the workers.
07:47 There was a protest going on till June in West Bengal, where the protester says you
07:53 are pushing us to destitution, yaar.
07:56 Now according to the government, why the government is not paying?
08:00 The government says people of the state must know how TMC leaders and workers have misused
08:05 the central funds.
08:07 This is what Ghosh, that is the BJP leader in West Bengal says.
08:10 He says that they even changed name of the centre scheme passed by them as their own.
08:17 Under such circumstances, the centre stopped funds to put an end to corruption.
08:22 What is wrong with you people?
08:25 What is wrong with you people?
08:28 Your political fights are harming the family, are harming the lives of the poor, the poorest
08:34 of the poor.
08:37 You change the name, you are corrupt, you don't do, you are unfair, it is centre, I
08:42 am state.
08:43 This thing has harmed the poorest of the poor people in India for crying out loud, stop
08:49 it.
08:52 Stop it.
08:53 Let me give you some details.
08:55 You see, it is not that West Bengal is the only state.
08:59 West Bengal is one of the state but the most, the maximum amount of money is spending in
09:04 West Bengal.
09:05 The government has still to pay Arunachal Pradesh 7.84 crores, the government has still
09:09 to pay Assam 196.11 crores, the government has still to pay Haryana 8.80 crores, the
09:16 government has still to pay Jharkhand 162.52 crores, the government has still to pay Karnataka
09:22 45.08 crores, the government has still to pay Kerala 456.2 crores, the government has
09:28 still to pay Ladakh 4.72 crores, the government has still to pay Madhya Pradesh 83.32 crores,
09:33 Mizoram 42.89 crores, Nagaland 183.55 crores, Rajasthan 108.80 crores, Tamil Nadu 210.74
09:44 crores, Telangana 139.77 crores, Uttar Pradesh 52.48 crores, Puducherry 0.34 crores, West
09:52 Bengal 2744.76 crores.
09:58 The total government still owns states 4447.92 crores out of which like I said 2744 crores
10:09 are to be paid to West Bengal.
10:12 Like what Apoorva Gupta from Narega Sangarsh Morcha who was part of the activist and journalist,
10:20 she said that even if they are having one meal a day, it usually comprises of rice and
10:26 water.
10:27 The children are dependent on midday meals too that is provided in the schools.
10:34 I just want you to think of those lives.
10:38 I just want you to think of those lives and this is real.
10:41 I am not narrating you a movie story.
10:44 I am telling you the real facts.
10:47 Rice and water or wo bhi nahi, you are taking that also away from them.
10:53 The children, they survive off midday meals which is provided in the schools and if the
10:57 midday meals are not provided or if chapatis and salt is what they have for midday meals,
11:03 so that is what their meal is.
11:06 In fact, I am not just saying this.
11:08 Even the High Court has asked the Centre for answer on June 7, 2023.
11:15 The Calcutta High Court on June 6 asked the Union Government and the West Bengal Government
11:19 to submit reports on non-payment of wages of workers enrolled in the Mahatma Gandhi
11:24 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
11:27 That is Mandrega.
11:28 Even the High Court has asked for an explanation.
11:30 Now think about the story I mentioned in the beginning of my editorial.
11:34 You see, we spend close to 20,000 crores on Central Vista.
11:39 Why?
11:40 We should have a very good parliament like that King said.
11:44 We should have a very big palace.
11:47 We should have huge Darbar halls.
11:50 We spend 8,000 crores on two jets for the Prime Minister and others.
11:55 8,000 crores.
11:56 Why?
11:57 Because the chariot should be studied.
12:01 It should be studied with diamond and emeralds because the world should say that we are very
12:08 prosperous.
12:09 You have people who are rich, getting richer and richer and richer.
12:16 The big deals that we crack across the globe, that is helping huge companies and you see
12:21 and you saw the Oxfam report.
12:23 Those huge buildings that we go in, those huge deals that we go in our 8,000 crore jets
12:30 and we crack those deals, those deals help the large companies.
12:35 Large companies, large companies do not employ Mandreka labourers.
12:40 They do not employ Mandreka labourers.
12:42 So those large companies and those owners of those large companies go richer and richer
12:46 and because these people are not paid their salaries, these people are not paid their
12:51 wages, these people get poorer and poorer and poorer and poorer.
12:57 Now think what Oxfam said.
13:01 Now think about the wedge that one spoke about and you will get the reason for it.
13:07 This is the reason for it.
13:09 So next time when we are in that 20,000 crore worth Central Vista Parliament and when we
13:17 ride that 8,000 crores worth of plane, please keep somewhere in your mind that a child has
13:24 not had his meal tonight.
13:27 That one meal that one person gets that is rice and water, that also has been deprived.
13:34 Please remember that in the 20,000 crore Parliament House that we have built for ourselves.
13:39 That is all I have to say.
13:41 Till I see you next time, Namaskar.
13:44 [MUSIC]
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