Scrapping MGNREGA Will Create Trouble for BJP, Say Congress Leaders at Karnataka Protest
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior Congress leaders detained during ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ protest in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, along with party MLAs and MPs, were detained by police on Tuesday during a protest against the Centre’s move to replace MGNREGA with the VB-GRAMG scheme.
The leaders were part of a “Raj Bhavan Chalo” protest and attempted to march towards Lok Bhavan when police stopped them and took them into custody. The Congress accused the central government of weakening the rural employment guarantee system and reducing the powers of gram panchayats.
After addressing party workers and supporters, the protesting leaders voluntarily boarded police buses and courted arrest.
Speaking before his detention, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that MGNREGA was a right to livelihood and employment introduced by the UPA government under the leadership of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He alleged that the Centre was trying to dismantle the scheme. He said that nearly five crore people in rural areas, including persons with disabilities, had benefited from guaranteed employment under MGNREGA.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that earlier, each panchayat used to receive nearly ₹1 crore under the scheme, which would now be taken away. He asserted that the Congress would continue its fight until the VB-GRAMG scheme is withdrawn and MGNREGA is fully restored, stating that VB-GRAMG does not provide guaranteed employment like MGNREGA.
Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the central government of being determined to abolish the rural employment guarantee scheme. He urged the Karnataka government to rename panchayat offices as “Mahatma Gandhi Kendras” in protest.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar warned of political consequences for the BJP, saying that by scrapping MGNREGA, the party had invited trouble for itself. He said rural people would not accept VB-GRAMG and would not forgive the BJP for weakening the employment guarantee law.
