Najeeb Kanthapuram accuses govt of ignoring plight of Anganwadi, ASHA workers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Najeeb Kanthapuram MLA moved notice for adjournment motion raising the ongoing strike of the Anganwadi workers in the assembly. He accused the government of ignoring the plight of these workers. Kanthapuram said the government is not able to keep the people belonging to the lower classes together. The Left government is becoming the perpetrators of the strikes. The government's job now is to chase away the strikers, he said.

If there was excessive power here like in China, the government would have run over tankers on ASHAs and Anganwadi teachers. Najeeb Kanthapuram said one has to be fortunate that this is Kerala. Najeeb said the government is ignoring the Anganwadi teachers like the ASHA workers. With this, the ruling party created a ruckus. When Najeeb asked how many strikes Minister Veena George had participated in and been arrested, the ruckus intensified.

The Speaker said that it is not right to say that one can become a minister only if participated in the strike. Najeeb said that even though Sunita Williams landed on the earth, the ruling party is still in the sky. With this, the speaker turned off the mic.

P Rajeev asked from which front of struggle did former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh become the Prime Minister. The minister asked why the labor organizations of the League and Congress are not striking with the ASHA workers. P Rajeev said that it was the Left government that increased the salaries of Anganwadi workers. Although it is a centrally sponsored scheme, 80 percent of the wages are paid by the state. The minister said the salaries would be distributed before the 5th of every month. However, opposition leader V D Satheesan said that it was the UDF that increased the salaries of Anganwadi workers and that the employees are under heavy workload.