BJP, Cong at loggerheads over scheme

A political slugfest to claim credit for MNREGA ensued on Tuesday, with the Centre extending its commitment and the Congress underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initial criticism of its flagship programme.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went to Bandlapalli in Andhra Pradesh, where MNREGA was first rolled out ten years back. Other opposition parties joined the Congress in attacking the BJP for its “denigration” of the pro-poor policy measure.

Rahul Gandhi mocked Modi, saying his government’s praise is a “shining example” of PM’s “political wisdom” while Singh alleged that there was an attempt to “kill the soul and spirit” of NREGA. “After calling NREGA ‘living monument of INC’s failure’ the Centre now hails it as cause of ‘national pride and celebration’! Shining example of Modiji’s political wisdom,” the Congress Vice-President said in a tweet.

Gandhi’s reference was to the Prime Minister’s snide remarks about the UPA’s flagship scheme during the Budget Session last year.

“Despite the enormous potential of MGNREGA as a social security programme, the Prime Minister does not like it. He has called MGNREGA as an epitome of Congress failure – a living proof of 60 years of Congress misrule. The Modi government seeks to kill the soul and spirit of MGNREGA by withholding payments to States for MGNREGA works. In 2014-15 alone, the Government of India did not make payment of ₹6,000 crore to States for already-executed MGNREGA works,” he said.

He added that it was up to the people to mobilise their sources in support of the effectiveness of MGNREGA, to convince the Centre to desist from the negative path of eroding the effectiveness of MGNREGA as an instrument of people-centred development.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah endorsed Singh’s views and said the BJP is trying to take credit for the scheme. “The BJP never tired of criticising MNREGA and are now selling it as if it was their gift to the nation. Thank you Dr. Manmohan Singh Sahib,” he tweeted. “Dr Manmohan Singh is right; history will judge him far more favourably than he has been judged, MNREGA being a case in point,” he added.

In Delhi, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said Modi and his government did everything possible to destroy MGNREGA.

“After having dealt a severe blow to one of the landmark Rights Based Legislation that provided the right to livelihood and employment, as well as changed the rural landscape of the country like never before, the Centre has, in a characteristic U-turn, suddenly discovered the virtues of MGNREGA,” he said in a statement.

“Modi has come around from a position of criticising the Programme to celebrating it. Unfortunately, his actions of neglect speaker louder than his words,” Surjewala added.

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