Congress MPs today staged a strong protest outside Makar Dwar in Parliament against the introduction of a new law in place of MNREGA. Priyanka Gandhi termed it a ‘crazy’ of the Modi government. He said, “Whenever the name of a scheme is changed, crores of rupees are spent on it. This scheme is in the name of Mahatma Gandhi and by changing the name he is being insulted. When the MNREGA law was made, there was everyone’s consent in this House.” He said that BJP wants to snatch the rights of the poorest labourers.
Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the government is not just changing the name of the scheme, but also wants to end it gradually. He said that in the new bill, the government has reduced the amount given by the Center by 90 percent and has put the burden on the states to bear the higher expenditure. At the same time, now the work will also be determined by the Center and this will defeat the basic purpose of the scheme.
Congress today staged a strong protest in Parliament against changing the name of MNREGA to “Vikas Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission – Rural” (VB-G RAM G). Priyanka Gandhi called it a craze of the Modi government and said that she wants to stop this entire scheme. He said that MNREGA workers are the poorest workers in the country and BJP wants to end the legal rights given to them.
Priyanka Gandhi said that at first glance it only appears that the government is changing the name of the scheme and its days are being increased to 125. But if seen properly, there are two-three issues which not only weaken this scheme but can also end it. He said, “The BJP government has talked about increasing the working days by 125 days, but there has been no talk about increasing the earnings of the laborers. Even today, people in different states have not received the MNREGA dues. If the government has not been able to pay the previous amount till now, then how will it pay the amount for the increased days? Earlier, it was the Centre’s responsibility to bear ninety percent of the amount. Now in the new bill, the government wants the Centre’s share to be reduced and the state to bear forty percent of the amount.” In such a situation, the poor states will not be able to afford that increased amount. And if the state government will not be able to give the money, then the scheme will end.
The Congress MP said that the work to be done under the scheme is currently decided at the local level. But after the new system is implemented, the central government will decide what work will be done. With this, the authority given to the Panchayats will end. He said that all the rights should come to the Center and the responsibility of more money will be put on the state. Priyanka Gandhi questioned that the MNREGA workers in the village are still not getting the full amount of money. In such a situation, how will they get the amount for 125 days? He said that in such a situation this scheme will end and become like other ordinary government schemes. The Congress leader alleged that the Modi government wants to abolish the rights given to rural people under MNREGA.
