Congress leader K C Venugopal said renaming MGNREGA is an attempt to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and claim ownership of a UPA-era welfare programme.
The party alleged the move diverts attention from reduced budget allocations, unpaid wage arrears, and workers’ demands for higher wages.
MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, guarantees wage employment to rural households and remains a cornerstone of livelihood security in villages.
Cong Slams MGNREGA Renaming as ‘Cosmetic’, says, Centre Grabbed Credit
The Congress has accused the Modi government of attempting to appropriate credit by renaming MGNREGA, calling it a symbolic move that masks years of underfunding and neglect of the rural employment scheme. The criticism follows the Union Cabinet’s approval to rename the Act and extend guaranteed workdays.
Summary
The Congress on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to appropriate credit by renaming the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling the move a “cosmetic exercise” aimed at masking the Centre’s sustained neglect of the scheme.
The allegations came a day after the Union Cabinet approved a Bill to rename MGNREGA as ‘Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojana’ and intend to increase the guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said the Prime Minister—who had earlier described MGNREGA as a “monument of failure”—was now seeking ownership of what he termed a landmark welfare programme. He alleged that the renaming was part of a broader effort to dilute Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, particularly in rural India. PTI reported.
Venugopal further said the government was using rebranding to divert attention from serious implementation issues. He pointed out that MGNREGA workers have long demanded higher wages, while budgetary allocations for the scheme have been consistently reduced, leading to mounting payment arrears.
Describing this as a “deliberate strategy” to weaken the programme, Venugopal alleged the government lacked genuine commitment to welfare delivery and was resorting to symbolic measures instead. PTI reported.
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He asserted that irrespective of the name change, people remain aware that the scheme was introduced by the UPA government under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, guarantees at least 100 days of wage employment annually to rural households willing to undertake unskilled manual work and is considered one of India’s most significant rural employment programmes.
(With inputs from PTI)
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