Bedi's services to welfare of labour force hailed

Penukonda(sathya sai): Speakers at the 85th birthday celebrations of Narender Bedi, a reputed social worker, who spent more than 50 years of his life in rural areas of Penukonda, empowering rural wage labourers and organising them into an organised force besides working relentless for afforestation of large tracts of forest lands, lauded his services.

The speakers said that Bedi played a decisive role in influencing former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in bringing out the NREGS legislation. Bedi used his affinity with Rajiv as a senior to Rajiv Gandhi in Doon School to bring in the legislation which popularised the party in rural areas. Dr M Suresh Babu, a social activist, says that the role of Young India Project in empowering rural communities in Anantapur district and supporting them in their struggle to eradicate poverty, suffering and injustice was commendable. Sustainable livelihoods of arid zone communities remain an important issue to be addressed.

Gopal Reddy, another keen observer of YIP project for the past 5 decades says that YIP started with land struggles and organised marginal peasants to get the lands they were cultivating to be registered on their names. Over 35 years i.e from 1983 to 2018, YIP organised rural labour to take up struggles on other rights also.

Speaking on the occasion, Narendra Bedi says that MGNREGA has given workers many rights and no government can take those rights away. Social activists and the civil society should pressure the Centre to increase the annual MGNREGA budget in order to honour the demands of the workers in each state. If not pushed the Centre will not do it on its own. Each state will be interested in getting more MGNREGA funds, he opined.