BJP’s hostile towards Mahatma, alleged Vaiko

CHENNAI: MDMK General Secretary Vaiko has condemned the Union government for introducing a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), alleging that the move reflects the Narendra Modi-led BJP government’s hostility towards Mahatma Gandhi and its disregard for the livelihoods of poor rural citizens.

In a statement, the senior leader said that despite strong opposition from Congress, DMK, MDMK, Left parties and other Opposition members in Parliament, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tabled the new Bill in the Lok Sabha on December 16.

Vaiko said that the MGNREG Act had emerged as a crucial and sustainable solution to address drought, rural distress and unemployment, and played a major role in alleviating rural poverty and helping millions escape extreme deprivation.

"However, after assuming office in 2014, the BJP-led Union government allegedly began systematically weakening the scheme. Between 2008 and 2011, annual allocations for MGNREGS stood at around 0.4% of GDP. Under the Modi government, budgetary allocations were steadily reduced year after year,” he charged.

Due to the funding shortfall, the statutory guarantee of 100 days of employment could not be provided, with rural households receiving on average, only about 40 days of work per year. Further, the Union government removed lakhs of poor rural beneficiaries from the scheme across the country on the pretext of Aadhaar non-linkage, he alleged.

"In this context, the Union government has proposed renaming the scheme as “Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin)” (VB-G-RAM-G),” he said.