The Central Government has introduced a bill in Parliament to rename the Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Scheme. The bill is called ‘The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin)’, abbreviated as VB-G RAM G. The government says the move is part of the ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ vision. The National Employment Guarantee Scheme, started by the then UPA government in 2005, was changed to the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 2009. The new bill proposes to increase the guaranteed days of work from the current 100 days to 125 days.
‘Shameful to Only Focus on Name Change’: Priyanka Gandhi Senior Congress leader and MP Priyanka Gandhi questioned the motive behind renaming the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). She stated that it is shameful that the government is only focusing on changing the name while the facilities provided by the scheme should be improved.
‘Attempt to Undermine the Employment Guarantee Scheme’: Pinarayi Vijayan Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan protested against the Union Government’s decision to change the name and structure of the MGNREGS. He stated that the Union Government is trying to completely undermine the employment guarantee scheme, which is a lifeline for the poor. The Chief Minister posted on Facebook that the name change clearly shows the level of hatred the Sangh Parivar has for the name and idea of Gandhi, and the decision attempts to sabotage the fundamental objectives of the scheme.
‘Name Change Controversy Unfortunate’: Shashi Tharoor Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the controversy over renaming the MGNREGS through the Centre’s proposed G-RAM-G Bill is unfortunate. Tharoor wrote that the concepts of ‘Gram Swaraj’ and ‘Ram Rajya’ were never mutually exclusive but were two main pillars of Gandhiji’s thought process, urging not to dishonour that great tradition by creating a non-existent division. His reaction was shared via Facebook.
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