Friday, August 26 2005 15:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (CPI) Marxist (M) has said it would not allow any move to link funding of a job guarantee scheme with economic growth, while observing that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had 'failed to give a categorical assurance' about statutory funding of the rural employment guarantee law.

While welcoming the passage of the bill in Parliament, party Politburo Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government must commit itself towards the successful implementation of the scheme once it has become an Act of Parliament.

In an editorial in the forthcoming issue of 'People's Democracy', he said the Prime Minister while intervening in the debate in Rajya Sabha "Failed to give a categorical assurance that this statutory bill will be backed by statutory funding. This would have made the guarantee rest on a much firmer ground".

He quoted the Prime Minister as saying that if the economy grew at the rate of eight per cent per annum, then the employments guarantee programme as well as others likes Bharat Nirman could be financed without any problem.

"This is a dangerous caveat. If for some reason growth rate fails to reach the target, then this scheme could well be in jeopardy. This cannot be allowed," Yechury said.

He, however, said the Act was the first step towards making right to work a fundamental right as it was for the first time since Independence that the Government would be providing a legal guarantee for employment.

The CPI-M leader, who is the editor of the party organ, said the Prime Minister sought to justify the reforms of liberalisation and privatisation by saying these were necessary to achieve the targeted growth levels.

"Specifically, he mentioned that larger inflows of foreign investment, curtailing or, in general, targeting subsidies are necessary in order to protect the public sector. While doing so, he hinted at the necessity to hike petroleum prices in order to protect the oil public sector giants", he said in the editorial.

"In other words, we are being led to believe that the successful implementation of the employment guarantee act is conditional upon the implementation of neo-liberal reforms.

"If this be the case, then the people must brace themselves to face a further onslaught on their livelihood, which is likely to come through cuts in subsidies and hikes in prices", Yechury said.

Maintaining that the employment guarantee act had come into being in response to the people's craving for a better livelihood, he said if this was to be accompanied by further attacks on their livelihood, then clearly the Government is giving from the left hand and taking from the right hand.

"This is not acceptable", he asserted and said the sincerity of the UPA Government's commitment to implement the job guarantee law would be seen in the coming days.