gÉÉŌ A.]ÉŌ. xÉÉxÉÉ

03.08.2010
opportunity for everybody to express their resentment. In India today we are self-
sufficient, if we can manage our economy. When the whole world was in
economic crisis, the Indian economy survived. Since 1991 we are in a position to
implement a lot of schemes and programmes.
Let us take the example of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme. Now, it is being said that the money allocated for
this purpose is being frittered away. Today if any person who wants to work can
register himself or herself with the Panchayat. Within 15 days he or she will get a
job card and within 15 days he will get a job and if the cardholder does not get a
job within 15 days, then he or she will be given unemployment allowance. A sum
of Rs. 50,000 crore has been spent on this programme last year. I feel ashamed to
admit that my State, which is now being ruled by a Left Party, had spent only 27
per cent of the total allocation under this scheme. They could not even make the
programmes and utilise the funds which has been provided by the Central
Government. What has been the ultimate result of this programme? The
purchasing power of the common man has increased. I would like to refer to an
incident to which I was a witness. A boy travelled some 2,000 kilometres from
Bengal to come and work in a granite quarry in Kerala. One day there was an
accident. It was in my constituency. I went there and to my surprise I found that
the injured boy knew no other language than Bangla.
204