Hyderabad: Telangana Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Sunday accused the BJP-led central government of trying to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy. They are doing this by removing his name from the MGNREGA scheme. This MGNREGA name change, he described, is a deliberate political conspiracy to eliminate names like Gandhi, Nehru, and Indira Gandhi from national institutions.
Congress urges village-level protest resolutions
Speaking at a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Prabhakar was joined by Ministers Vivek Venkatswamy, Mohammad Azharuddin, and other senior Congress leaders. He appealed to all newly elected sarpanches to pass resolutions during their first gram sabhas. These resolutions should focus on opposing the MGNREGA name change. They should also condemn the Centre’s decision and demand the restoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s name in the scheme.
Moreover, he alleged that the Centre had diluted the MGNREGA Act. According to him, the revised 60:40 funding ratio was pushing a greater financial burden onto state governments. As a result, the scheme’s effectiveness had been severely compromised. He warned that Congress would organise village-level protests using Gandhi’s portraits to resist the name change of MGNREGA.
Referring to the scheme’s origins, Prabhakar said it was launched by the UPA government in 2004 under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Furthermore, it was developed after thorough consultations with economists and social thinkers. Notably, it aimed to reduce rural migration and strengthen local economies. This was much before the recent name change discussions.
In addition, he criticised the BJP for not fulfilling its 2014 election promise of extending the scheme to urban areas. Instead of expanding it, he said, the government had damaged its structure. Criticism also targeted the MGNREGA name change, demanding that the Centre roll back all amendments made to the scheme.
Finally, Prabhakar accused the BJP of trying to erase or claim Congress-initiated reforms. These policies, including the original MGNREGA name, he said, laid the foundation for India’s economic and social progress and should not be tampered with.