Archive · 25 Jul 2025
Congress Condemns Modi Govt's West Bengal Data Omission
The Indian government provided data on a rural employment program called MGNREGA to Parliament.
However, the government left out information about the state of West Bengal, which made some people upset.
Jairam Ramesh, a politician from the Congress party, said this was not right and questioned why West Bengal was excluded.
Another politician had asked for information about money owed to different states, as well as how many people were registered for the program.
The government's response showed how much money was owed to each state, but West Bengal was not included.
Congress criticized the Modi government for excluding West Bengal data from its MGNREGA response in Parliament.
Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, called the omission 'extraordinary, unprecedented, and unacceptable.'
Derek O'Brien, a TMC MP, inquired about state-wise pending MGNREGA liabilities, household registrations, and average workdays.
The government's response, provided by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, included data from 33 states and UTs but omitted West Bengal.
The released data showed varying pending liabilities among states, with no pending liability for previous years for wages or admin components.
- Who
- Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, TMC MP Derek O'Brien, and Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
- What
- Omission of West Bengal data in the government's MGNREGA response in Parliament.
- When
- The incident occurred when the government submitted a written reply to a query regarding MGNREGA liabilities.
- Where
- Parliament, India
- Why
- The reason for the omission is not provided by the Ministry of Rural Development.
Congress's View
Government's View
Data Exclusion Justification
Congress's View
The exclusion of West Bengal's data is 'extraordinary, unprecedented, and unacceptable.'
Government's View
The government has not provided any justification for excluding West Bengal data.
- Inquiry Subject
- State-wise pending MGNREGA liabilities
- Requestor
- Derek O'Brien, TMC MP
- Responding Minister
- Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Rural Development Minister
- States in Response
- 33 states and union territories (excluding West Bengal)
- Primary Critic
- Jairam Ramesh, Congress Leader
- Disparity in Pending Liabilities
- Andhra Pradesh (21.04%) to Uttar Pradesh (123.16%)