HT Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, Jan 10: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the central government’s decision to rename the flagship rural employment programme, MGNREGA, calling the move “unfortunate and surprising.”
Addressing the media at Rajiv Bhavan in Dibrugarh, the five-time MP and former DoNER Minister criticised the rebranding of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to the ‘Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen)’, or VB-G RAM G.
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“The omission of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme is not just unfortunate, it is surprising and raises serious questions. What is the motive behind this deliberate erasure? MGNREGA is not just a scheme; it carries the legacy and ideology of the Father of the Nation, ensuring dignity of labour and social security for the poorest,” Ghatowar said.
He emphasised that MGNREGA, introduced during the UPA era, has served as a critical safety net for millions of rural Indians. By removing Gandhi’s name, the leader argued, the government is distancing the programme from its original ethos and creators.
“This appears to be a calculated attempt to rewrite history and undermine the contributions of previous governments. The name ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ symbolised a commitment to rural upliftment. Its removal is symbolic of a larger shift away from those core principles,” he added.
Ghatowar’s remarks come amid growing political controversy over the renaming with opposition parties labelling it “vendetta politics” aimed at erasing the Congress-led UPA’s legacy.
