Hyderabad: Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy called the Centre’s decision to rename MGNREGA an insult to Mahatma Gandhi. He also described it as a blow to rural employment.
In a statement released on Thursday, Ponguleti criticised the BJP-led Union government. This was for removing Gandhi’s name from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and rebranding it as the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB G RAM G).
He said the UPA government introduced the scheme in 2005 to support poor rural families. However, the BJP has consistently weakened it over the last decade. “This name change is not only shameful, it’s an attack on the livelihoods of the poor,” he said.
Ponguleti says move weakens rural job scheme
He also criticised the decision to shift 40 percent of the scheme’s funding burden onto the states. He called it an “unbearable burden” and a serious step backward for development. Ponguleti stated that the bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, alters both the spirit and structure of the original scheme.
He argued that MGNREGA had long been the backbone of India’s rural economy. In his view, dismantling its identity was unjust and politically motivated.