BJP MP Nishikant Dubey defended the new VB-G RAM G Bill, asking if the opposition wants to help the poor or stop corruption. This follows Sonia Gandhi's accusation that the Centre 'bulldozed' the original MGNREGA scheme.
BJP Defends New Bill, Questions Opposition
Following the passage of the VB-G RAM G Bill (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)) in the Parliament and the opposition accusing the Centre of 'bulldozing' the MGNREGA, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey asked whether the opposition wanted to give money to the poor or not. Speaking to ANI, Dubey said, "In this country, the responsibility of implementing the laws passed by Parliament lies with the states. The big question is whether they (the opposition) want to give money to the poor or not? Was there corruption in MNREGA or not? To stop corruption we have said that without biometric payment will not be done. Secondly, we have said that there will be a Lokpal in every sector."
On Renaming MGNREGA
Reacting to the row over renaming the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), he said that Mahatma Gandhi resides in everyone's hearts. Dubey further said, "Mahatma Gandhi resides in everyone's hearts. When a debate was going on in the Constituent Assembly in 1948 and 49, then Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, then President Rajendra Prasad and former PM Nehru said that whenever any changes have to be brought in any scheme, then Mahatma Gandhi's name will not be used. In 1976, then PM Indira Gandhi took away the rights of the President. In the Constituent Assembly, it was said that the name of Mahatma Gandhi would not be used in the Constitution. When it cannot be used in the Constitution, how can it be used in any scheme?"
Sonia Gandhi Accuses Centre of 'Bulldozing' MGNREGA
Earlier, Congress Party's Parliamentary Chairperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi on Saturday accused the Centre of 'bulldozing' the MGNREGA, which proved to be a lifeline for the poor during the COVID times. In a video message addressed to the countrymen, Sonia Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government has ignored the interests of unemployed, poor and deprived people in rural areas. "In the last 11 years, the Modi government has ignored the interests of the unemployed, the poor, and the deprived in rural areas, making every effort to weaken MGNREGA, even though during the COVID times, it proved to be a lifeline for the poor," Sonia Gandhi said.
"It is a matter of great regret that just recently, the government ran a bulldozer over MGNREGA. Not only was Mahatma Gandhi's name removed, but the form and structure of MGNREGA was changed arbitrarily--without any deliberation, without consulting anyone, without taking the opposition into confidence," she added.
Reflecting on the passage of the Act, introduced in 2005 and enacted in 2006, Gandhi highlighted how the "revolutionary step" benefited crores of rural families and provided livelihoods for the "deprived, exploited, poor, and the poorest of the poor."
"I still remember vividly, 20 years ago when Dr. Manmohan Singh ji was the Prime Minister, the MGNREGA Act was passed in Parliament by consensus. It was such a revolutionary step, the benefits of which reached crores of rural families. Especially, it became a means of livelihood for the deprived, exploited, poor, and the poorest of the poor," the Congress leader said.
Gandhi said that the implementation of MGNREGA was "never a party-specific matter" and the scheme always looked towards the interests of the people.
Meanwhile, the Congress is set to hold a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting next week, on December 27, to decide on its plan of opposing the VB G RAM G Bill nationwide.
Details of the New VB-G RAM G Bill
During the recently concluded winter session, the Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB--G RAM G) Bill, with Rajya Sabha approving the legislation hours after Lok Sabha passed it. The Bill guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work.
As per Section 22 of the Bill, the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States, and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), it will be 90:10. Section 6 of the Bill allows the state governments to notify in advance, a period aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting. (ANI)
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