Kerala MPs protest in front of Parliament, demand better pay for ASHA workers | Watch

New Delhi: MPs from Kerala held a protest in front of Parliament on Tuesday to show solidarity to the ASHA workers. They demanded that the honorarium of the ASHA workers be raised to Rs 21,000 and they should receive Rs 5 lakh as retirement benefits. The MPs shouted slogans demanding proper remuneration to be given to the ASHA workers.

The ASHA workers’ protest in Kerala has completed one month on Tuesday, with protesters planning to escalate their agitation as the government continues to ignore their demands. The ASHA Health Workers Association has announced plans to blockade the secretariat on March17.

Shashi Tharoor of the Congress was the first to raise the issue during Zero Hour on Monday. Referring to Asha workers' month-long agitation in Kerala, he said they are paid poorly and continue to be treated as volunteers and denied social security and pension benefits.

He said the "unsung" heroes, who worked as frontline healthcare givers during the COVID-19 pandemic, are denied regular payments. He wondered whether their efforts are ignored just because they are women.

Another party member from Kerala, K C Venugopal reminded the Chair that he had been seeking to raise the issue for a long time.

He said while the state government is blaming them for the agitation, the Centre is blaming the state for the situation.

The Centre and Kerala have found themselves embroiled in a dispute, with both sides accusing each other of mismanagement of funds. The Central government claimed that it had provided the full central share and accused Kerala of misleading the public to cover up its own shortcomings.

In response, the Kerala government has released a letter from the Centre which states that co-branding funds cannot be allocated. The Union Health Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday evening, attempting to clarify the situation regarding ASHA workers and directing criticism towards the state government.