New Delhi: Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over its so-called MGNREGA Bachao Sangharsh, terming it not a movement to save employment but an attempt to protect corruption. He said the Congress is uneasy because all avenues of corruption have now been firmly shut.
Addressing a press conference, Chouhan alleged that Congress politics has long been built on falsehoods, misinformation and manufactured narratives. He remarked that the party has problems with the village, with work and even with Ram, which, he said, clearly reflects its political mindset. Referring to debates in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister stated that the Congress lacks the courage to listen to the truth and instead tries to disrupt Parliament rather than engage in meaningful dialogue.
Chouhan further alleged that during the UPA regime, MGNREGA ceased to be an honest employment scheme and turned into a hub of corruption. He claimed that work was executed through contractors in the name of labourers, machines were used while wages were shown as paid to workers, and the same roads were repeatedly projected as new projects. He added that social audits conducted through gram sabhas recorded over 1.091 million complaints.
Highlighting the current government’s record, Chouhan said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 8.48 trillion has been spent on rural development so far, compared to only 2 trillion during the UPA years, despite which no lasting assets were created then.
The Union Minister described the newly developed Viksit Bharat Ji Ram Ji scheme as far more effective than MGNREGA. He said it provides a legal guarantee of 125 days of employment, unemployment allowance, penalties for delayed payments and full powers to gram panchayats. An allocation of 1.51 trillion has been made under the scheme. Urging the Congress to cooperate instead of spreading confusion, Chouhan said that developed villages form the foundation of a developed India.
