Congress slams Centre over MGNREGA renaming; calls move attempt to 'erase' Gandhis legacy
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday criticised the Union government over the Cabinets approval of a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that the move reflects an attempt to erase Mahatma Gandhis legacy and mask what it described as the Centres neglect of the rural employment scheme. Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said the renaming was aimed at claiming credit for a programme that was conceived and implemented by the previous Congress-led UPA government. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier described MGNREGA as a monument of failure. Calling the decision yet another way of erasing Mahatma Gandhi from our national psyche, Venugopal said the move was particularly significant in rural India, where Gandhi believed Indias soul resides. In a post on X, he alleged that the change was cosmetic and intended to divert attention from what he termed the systematic weakening of the scheme. Venugopal said MGNREGA workers across the country have been demanding higher wages, while allocations for the scheme have been reduced year after year. He alleged that delays in wage payments have led to mounting arrears and claimed this reflected a carefully planned strategy to gradually undermine the programme. According to him, the government lacked genuine intent to deliver welfare and was resorting to symbolic measures instead. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also criticised the government, accusing it of repeatedly renaming schemes and laws. He said the Modi government had a record of rebranding earlier initiatives, citing the renaming of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and changes to rural LPG distribution programmes. Ramesh questioned the need to remove Mahatma Gandhis name from the Act, asking what was wrong with retaining it. The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a Bill to rename MGNREGA as the Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojana and to increase the guaranteed number of workdays under the scheme from the current 100 days to 125 days in a financial year. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, enacted in 2005, is one of the countrys flagship social welfare programmes. It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a year to every household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.
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