CM Fadnavis slams Congress over opposition to MGNREGA renaming

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday criticised the Congress for opposing the Centre’s decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) , asserting that the Opposition party continues to target the government even when welfare measures benefit people.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme here, Fadnavis said the BJP-led Union government has introduced positive changes that would significantly strengthen rural development and employment generation.

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a Bill to rename MGNREGA as Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojna and to increase the guaranteed number of wage-employment days from the existing 100 to 125 per rural household in a financial year.

MGNREGA, enacted in 2005 under the UPA government, is a rights-based law that guarantees rural households employment on demand and aims to provide livelihood security, reduce distress migration and create durable rural assets.

Reacting to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s reported criticism that the renaming would lead to unnecessary expenditure, Fadnavis said the party opposes the scheme irrespective of whether work is undertaken or not.

“They criticise when work is carried out under MGNREGA and also when no work is done. They speak against it even when people benefit from the scheme,” he said, adding that there was no need to pay attention to such criticism.

The chief minister maintained that the Modi government’s decision would benefit rural employment and development in a substantial way. He also said that for rural workers, acceptance of the scheme depends more on availability of work, timely wage payments and increased workdays than on the scheme’s name.

Addressing concerns raised by the Opposition over being denied permission to protest on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan during the ongoing winter session, Fadnavis said there was no such strategy and welcomed discussions inside the legislature.

“I am happy that extensive debates are taking place and that many Bills have been passed. Democracy thrives on discussion, not protests outside the House,” he said.

On the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said the next mayor of Mumbai would be from the ruling Mahayuti alliance, adding that the BJP and Shiv Sena would jointly decide seat-sharing in Kalyan-Dombivli.