Wednesday, August 17 2005 20:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (August 17, 2005) said it would move amendments to the proposed National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill if the Government does not incorporate the changes suggested by the Standing Committee, including provision of jobs for all those who seek employment across the country.

"We want the Government to accept all the amendments suggested by the Standing Committee. The guarantee should be available for all those ready to work. Another major shortcoming is its confinement to the rural areas and job provision for only one person in a family," BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman V K Malhotra told reporters here.

Briefing reporters on the deliberations of the weekly BJP Parliamentary Party meeting here, he said the scheme should be 'time bound' and all those employed under it should get at least the minimum wages applicable in each state.

"There are about four crore urban poor living in slums.

Either there should be a separate Bill for them as suggested by the Standing Committee or bring them under the purview of the current Bill," the BJP leader said.

He said the party would bring amendments to the Bill if the Government does not incorporate the changes recommended by the Panel.

However, when specifically asked whether the party would oppose the Bill if its amendments were not accepted, he replied in the negative and said, "We would expose the Government on those issues across the country."

Asserting that the BJP will oppose any Bill to allow FDI in the retail sector, he said while on one side the Government was trying to provide job guarantee, on the other it was rendering crores of small time shopkeepers and vendors unemployed.