Govt focussing on growth at cost of people: Aruna Roy

Social activist Aruna Roy, said pro-poor issues have been pushed to the back burner by the UPA-II government

Social activist Aruna Roy, who has decided to dissociate herself from Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, today hit out at government saying it was focussing on economic reforms and growth at the cost of poor people.

Roy, who has attacked the Prime Minister for rejecting a proposal of NAC to raise minimum wages under MGNREGA, said pro-poor issues have been pushed to the back burner by the UPA-II government.

She listed pendency of key legislations like Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill and "efforts to tamper" with the Right to Information Act to target the government.

Roy, whose term in the NAC comes to an end tomorrow, has requested Gandhi that she should not be considered for another term.

"There is an ideological bias that the government has taken. It has become completely pro-market and it has become pro-reforms and pro-growth... So fundamentally, we need to question whether this government or any other government can actually push a growth agenda at the cost of poor people," Roy told PTI.

Her comments assume significance in the light of her letter to Gandhi in which she has attacked the Prime Minister, saying it was "extremely unfortunate" that he had rejected the NAC's recommendations on payment of minimum wages to MGNREGA workers and "chose instead to appeal the Karnataka High Court judgement ordering the payment of minimum wages to MGNREGA workers."

Over a year back, NAC had recommended raising of wages under MGNREGA from Rs 100 but the PMO had said it could not be done as it would require amendment to MGNREGA Act. It had then, however, linked the wages to inflation index.

Roy, who had been vocal in raising issues against the government even in the NAC, said she would now fight for pro-people issues from outside.