Social activist Aruna Roy resigns from NAC

Social activist Aruna Roy has resigned from Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) on Thursday after government refuse to take up NAC’s recommendations on minimum wages to workers under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Roy has written a letter to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi requesting that she will not continue another term of NAC after her present term ends on Friday. Sonia Gandhi has accepted her resignation.

“I do believe that it is extremely unfortunate that the Prime Minister rejected the NAC recommendations on payment of minimum wages to MGNREGA workers and chose instead to appeal the Karnataka High Court judgement ordering payment of minimum wages to MGNREGA workers,” Aruna Roy said.

She denies any rift with NAC.

“There are no differences with the National Advisory Council. The (National) Advisory Council is an (National) Advisory Council. It sends what it recommends to the Government of India. What made me become a member of the National Advisory Council was my activism, I go back to activism now in a total sense. Even though I was in National Advisory Council, I still remained an activist and I spoke and critique the government on a number of issues,” Roy told ANI.

“But today, I want to be fully involved with activism because my constituency are the poor of the country and they have a lot of issues, which need total attention. And we want full accountability from the government in the few months that are left to them that they should now give us the Food Security Act. They will have to implement all the accountability legislations and many other pending decisions and we also want guarantee of minimum wages,” she added.

NAC was founded to provide expert recommendations in policy making decision by the government.

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