Congress protests renaming of MGNREGA in MP assembly

Opposition Congress MLAs staged a protest in the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly on Wednesday against the Union government’s proposed renaming of the ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ (MGNREGA) to ‘Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen)’ (VB G RAM G).

The protest was held during the single-day special session of the Assembly convened on the occasion of completion of 70 years of the Legislative Assembly’s first session.

Advertisement

Led by Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar, the MLAs gathered under the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the Assembly premises, raising slogans and protested the renaming of MGNREGA.

Singhar alleged that the BJP only creates a false notion of respecting Mahatma Gandhi, but in reality it leaves no chance to disrespect the Father of the Nation.

“The Narendra Modi government is planning to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from one of the country’s most effective and pro-poor welfare schemes. The Congress will not sit quietly over this disrespect to the Father of the Nation,” Singhar averred.

BJP MLAs, however, countered the allegation, saying Congress only used Mahatma Gandhi’s name for political gains. They alleged that massive corruption had taken place in the MGNREGA scheme during the Congress rule, which amounted to an insult to Gandhi’s principles.

Launched by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre in 2005, MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of employment to rural households. It has been widely regarded as a landmark social security programme over the past two decades.