Hyderabad: Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao accused the Congress of spreading false propaganda over the change in the name of the employment guarantee scheme.
Addressing the issue, Ramchander Rao said the Centre only renamed the scheme while introducing reforms to ensure greater benefits to rural workers under NREGA. He questioned what loss Congress leaders suffered merely due to a change in the scheme’s name. He added that the Congress had no moral right to speak on the issue.
Ramchander Rao said that during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the country spent only a limited amount through the scheme until the end of his term. In contrast, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office, the Centre spent nearly ₹8 lakh crore in rural areas through the programme.
Ramchander Rao defends Centre’s rural development push
He said people should reflect on who genuinely worked for rural development. According to him, the Modi government strengthened the scheme to ensure direct benefits to villagers. He stated that Telangana’s rural areas would develop only by moving towards the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Referring to the VB-G Ram G scheme, Ramchander Rao said the programme carried the name of Lord Ram. He added that the initiative reflected both divine blessings and the hard work of the Prime Minister.