CHENNAI: Turning the heat on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami over the renaming and alleged dilution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Tuesday, said the opposition leader was undermining his own political career by supporting the proposed G RAM G Bill.
Questioning the feasibility of providing 125 days of employment under the new scheme, Stalin said that the Centre hasn't guaranteed even a single day of work under the renamed scheme. He alleged that LoP Palaniswami lacked the courage to oppose the suspension of MGNREGA and was instead misleading the public over the issue.
After failing to implement the existing MGNREGS effectively, how can we expect the BJP-led Union government to change everything just by renaming the scheme, CM Stalin questioned.
Accusing the Centre of abdicating its responsibility, Stalin said the Union government had completely washed its hands of rural employment obligations. He also criticised the imposition of a 40 per cent financial burden on the State government, calling it an autocratic move.
Referring to Palaniswami’s claim of having pressured the Centre to retain Mahatma Gandhi’s name in the scheme, Stalin said Delhi did not even consider him important enough to respond.
Stalin further said that by defending the BJP government’s actions in “burying” the UPA-era MGNREGS, which played a crucial role in reducing poverty and restoring the dignity of rural workers, Palaniswami was undermining his own political future.