The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated exchange and was briefly adjourned during Question Hour on Tuesday after members of Parliament from the opposition camp protested against the Union government over the alleged delay in releasing pending central funds, including those for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The uproar intensified after Union minister of state for rural development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, while addressing the issue, cited alleged financial misappropriation by the West Bengal government.
Trinamool Congress MP Bapi Haldar had sought a timeline for the release of MGNREGA dues to states, and responding to the query, Pemmasani claimed said, “Multiple things went wrong. Funds were misappropriated, and works were split and handed over to contractors on a nomination basis. 44 projects showed irregularities, and full recovery has been made in 34 cases. Ten cases are still pending.”
He further informed the House that ₹2.39 crore had been recovered out of the ₹5.37 crore flagged in financial irregularities in the state. His remarks triggered strong reactions from Opposition leaders, who accused the Centre of withholding funds as a punitive measure.
Later, Congress MP Adoor Prakash claimed delayed wage payments under MGNREGA, urging the government to increase workdays from 100 to 150 and revise wages. “Workers in Kerala have not received their wages for the last three months. ₹811 crore is due for Kerala under the scheme. Will the government release the pending amount and consider increasing wages and workdays?” he questioned.
{{/usCountry}}Later, Congress MP Adoor Prakash claimed delayed wage payments under MGNREGA, urging the government to increase workdays from 100 to 150 and revise wages. “Workers in Kerala have not received their wages for the last three months. ₹811 crore is due for Kerala under the scheme. Will the government release the pending amount and consider increasing wages and workdays?” he questioned.
{{/usCountry}}DMK MP Kanimozhi raised a similar issue regarding Tamil Nadu, claiming that ₹4,034 crore had been pending for five months. She also noted that chief minister MK Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the matter. “The Union minister assured that dues would be paid soon...but when will you pay them?” she asked.
Pemmasani, in response, argued that states must first clear delayed wage payments, after which the Centre would reimburse them. He defended the Centre’s fund distribution, stating, “Tamil Nadu has already received ₹7,300 crore. Despite having a population of 70 million, it draws more funds than Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 200 million and receives around ₹10,000 crore. There is no question of discrimination.”
However, his remarks failed to pacify the Opposition, leading to loud protests. As tensions escalated, Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan intervened, asserting that the Modi government had never discriminated against any state, including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Despite the ministers’ assurances, Opposition MPs resorted to sloganeering in the House.
Speaker Om Birla condemned the disruption and said, “It is not right to politicise state issues during Question Hour. You can question ministers, but disrupting proceedings for political agendas is against the dignity of the House.”