2 fake NREGA job card holders found in Bengal in 2024-25
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Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Tuesday questioned the Centre's stance towards Bengal after junior rural development minister Kamlesh Paswan informed party MP Mala Roy that only two fake NREGA job card holders had been found in the state in 2024–25, whereas the figures for UP, Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha and MP ran into the thousands.
In a statement on X, TMC said the figures placed in the Lok Sabha by the central minister clearly showed that 11,07,814 fake MGNREGA job cards were deleted across India between 2022 and 2025. "BJP-governed Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 4,50,172 deletions, 40.6% of the total. The other top offenders, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, are all Double Engine states. Bengal saw just 5,984 deletions, a mere 0.5%," the party said.
The party questioned BJP, asking, "Yet it is Bengal whose MGNREGA funds were cruelly blocked, with bogus allegations of irregularities. So, which is it, BJP? Were you lying all along to justify your economic blockade against Bengal out of pure political vendetta? Or are BJP-ruled states simply above scrutiny?"
Calcutta High Court on June 18 directed the Centre to resume the 100 days' work programme in Bengal from August 1, saying the scheme could not be "put in cold storage for eternity".
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The NREGA scheme was suspended in the state for close to three years. A person who obtained wages illegally or under fictitious names could not go free and had to be dealt with firmly, Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said. "But what about those who did the work genuinely?" he asked, observing: "A line should be drawn and a cut-off date announced.
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Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "The Centre told Lok Sabha that it is examining the HC order. This is an unprecedented blockade. The data shows that Bengal is being punished for its transparency and BJP-governed states are being rewarded for their illegality."
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With the rise of online matrimonial platforms and the growing commercialisation of marriage, dowry demands have taken new and complex forms, often disguised as gifts or expectations tied to a groom's education, profession, or policy Women's rights activist and senior advocate Sudha Ramalingam explained that the law is only one way of addressing dowry harassment. 'Laws are often respected only when they are enforced. In practice, the enforcement is weak. The law criminalises both giving and receiving dowry, but in reality, prosecution rarely targets those who give dowry, which diminishes the law's impact. This selective enforcement ends up victimising women, rather than protecting them,' she conviction rate for dowry harassment is at an abysmal 4%, said Lad Kumari Jain, former chairperson of the Rajasthan State Women's Commission.'The victim had to go back to the in-laws and face the same treatment and often failed to get custody of their children until the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, came into effect,' she said. Only 1% of the survivors are able to claim compensation. The endless legal system, the role of public prosecutors, and the current method of fighting cases at the institutional level make victims feel abandoned, she Menon said what started as gifts for the comfort of girls as they move into their new families has now transformed into an opportunity to display wealth, with parents of both the bride and the groom taking pride in giving and receiving exchanges may also enhance pressure on women to stay, explained Hassan-based activist Roopa Hassan. 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This pressure is especially strong in middle and upper-middle-class households, where even the woman's family may believe funding the man's business is their duty,' she notes that upper and middle classes view material transfers as status enhancements, while women in poorer families, unable to afford a substantial dowry, experience other forms of gendered abuse, often linked to control over women's income.'In poorer families, women face patriarchal control over women's wages and opportunities -- a form of economic domination,' she networksBosko described her experience of receiving a call from a young woman while heading the women's helpline to illustrate how family support can empower women to leave abusive relationships.'After crying her eyes out, the caller said she wanted her husband and in-laws to be jailed for dowry harassment. She said her family gave a huge dowry, and they felt it was her duty to adjust and not return home,' Bosko the woman's affliction, Bosko, while keeping the victim on the line, contacted her father and confronted him: Did he want his daughter alive or dead? Bosko told the father that he could rescue his daughter with government support, or he could approach the government to prosecute the offenders after losing her. 'The father broke down and, ultimately, saved her. If parents or relatives stand up for the girl, she gains confidence. Silence from the bride's family also amounts to abetment of suicide. Society should normalise women living alone or embracing a new life so that they don't think of extreme steps,' Bosko Hassan said that as long as girls are not allowed to establish their own identities, the menace of dowry will not be eradicated.'Our education system should teach boys and girls that marriage is not a trade, where you buy women for your needs. Girls should be taught to take a stand that they will not marry a man who demands dowry,' says calls for amendments to the Dowry Harassment Act to regulate the marriage market and curb material transactions, besides a sustained campaign against dowry by the media and civil society.'Real change requires more than legal enforcement — it demands a shift in societal attitudes, family cultures, and collective awareness,' Anandhi added. Advocate Ramalingam echoed this sentiment, pointing out that the glamourisation of extravagant weddings in popular media has normalised dowry and excessive spending. 'Society's acceptance of dowry sustains these crimes,' she said. 'Real progress will only come when there is a collective shift in mindset.'She went further to argue that passive observers also bear responsibility. 'All those present at such weddings should be considered as abetting the crime. Look at the abolition of Sati. It was not the law alone that ended it, but sustained social and cultural pressure. Likewise, laws against dowry need to be backed by a strong cultural transformation where these practices are seen as dishonourable and unacceptable,' the lawyer such shifts are beginning to emerge. In Maharashtra, after a series of dowry-related deaths, the Maratha community, which makes up about 33% of the state's nearly 13-14 crore population, publicly denounced the practice. In a rare collective stand, community leaders called for an end to both dowry harassment and lavish wedding issued a set of voluntary guidelines that included not giving expensive gifts, cutting down on wedding expenses, conducting ceremonies on time, and avoiding speeches during the event, a quiet but significant attempt to break away from harmful traditions.(With inputs from Pavan Kumar H in Hubballi, Mrityunjay Bose in Mumbai, and Rakhee Roytalukdar in Jaipur)
