Our govt will resist privatisation bid by Centre: Govindan Master

Excise and Rural Development Minister of Kerala M V Govindan Master said that the Kerala government would resist the privatisation bid by the Central government.

He was speaking after inaugurating a national-level symposium on 'NREGA 2005 and Rural Workers' organised by All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) and Karnataka Prantha Krushi Koolikarara Sangha in Karnataka Sangha premises in Mandya on Saturday.

He said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is against farm labourers, farmers and economically backward people. The government is conspiring to privatise government agencies that are helpful to needy people. Such attempts will not get support in Kerala. We will not allow privatisation of Central agencies and establishments in Kerala. We will fight against privatisation and will also support all those who fight against privatisation.”

Master added,"A party was re-elected for power for the first time in the history of Kerala. Pinarayi Vijayan got a second term as chief minister in a row for working in the interest of the poor, the oppressed and labourers. The Kerala government has ably tackled the Covid-19 situation so far. The mortality rate in Kerala is the lowest in India.”

AIAWU leader Suneet Chopra said that the Centre had conspired to scrap Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA), which was beneficial to rural and needy people.

“Modi had once described MGNREGA as useless. He increased the wages under MGNREGA during the second wave of Covid. It was MGNREGA that helped the people to survive during the Covid crisis. If Modi terms MGNREGA as useless again, people will dump him as useless,” he warned.

AIAWU general secretary B Venkat said, "The Centre has no faith in MGNREGA that provides jobs to common and poor people. The government has reduced the budgetary allocation to MGNREGA to 2%. It is promoting discrimination among workers on the basis of caste and wages. Bharat Bandh will be observed against the anti-people policies of the Centre on September 25,” he said.