Ponnam Prabhakar slams Centre’s move to dilute MGNREGA

LatestPoliticsTelangana
By HNH Web Desk
MGNREGA dilution

Hyderabad: Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi-led central government of trying to dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by introducing harmful amendments and attempting to drop Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme. Ponnam Prabhakar has been vocal about these issues in several forums.

Speaking to reporters, Prabhakar said the Centre was cutting funds and pushing legislative changes without consulting states. “If these reforms are so beneficial, why is the government avoiding dialogue with states?” he asked.

Congress slams unilateral move, flags federal concerns

Ponnam Prabhakar criticised the hurried tabling of MGNREGA-related bills in Parliament and called for their immediate withdrawal. He alleged that the Centre was “tightening a noose” around a lifeline programme that had offered livelihood support to rural households, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also condemned the move to remove Gandhi’s name. “You already carry the image of being heirs to Godse. Now you want to erase Gandhi from the minds of people with limited incomes,” he said.

The minister, Ponnam Prabhakar, pointed out that MGNREGA originated through consultations with experts like Nikhil Dey, Aruna Roy, Haragopal, and Shanta Sinha. He described the law as a Congress initiative that had effectively addressed rural poverty but now faced a systematic attack.

Prabhakar accused the Centre of holding back funds owed to states and using cess revenues to bypass constitutional sharing. “States are being forced to shoulder 40% of the cost while their fiscal autonomy is already reduced under GST,” he said.

He warned that the Centre was undermining India’s federal framework. “We will fight these attempts. The MGNREGA bills must be withdrawn without delay,” he said. If Congress returns to power, he pledged, the party would restore Gandhi’s name and expand the scheme to urban areas to address growing poverty.

 

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