BJP has an allergy to Mahatma Gandhi’s name: CM
Calls for ‘MNREGA Bachao’ movement to become a mass struggle
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday strongly criticised the BJP-led Central government, alleging that it has an “allergy” to the name of Mahatma Gandhi, and called for a sustained struggle until the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is restored and the newly introduced VBG Ramji Act is withdrawn.
Addressing a preparatory meeting of the MNREGA Bachao Sangram organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) at Gayatri Vihar here, the Chief Minister said the agitation must continue until the Centre reverses its decision. “Our fight should go on until MNREGA is reinstated and the VBG Ramji Act is repealed,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said the movement should evolve from the grassroots to the state level and take the form of a mass agitation. Drawing a parallel with farmers’ protests in northern India that led to the rollback of controversial farm laws, he urged party workers to intensify the struggle. “This should become a people’s movement,” he asserted.
Referring to the recent All India Congress Committee (AICC) executive committee meeting, the Chief Minister said the party had taken the dilution of MNREGA very seriously. “The Centre has effectively dismantled MNREGA and replaced it with the VBG Ram Gi Act. The BJP has a clear allergy to Mahatma Gandhi’s name,” he alleged.
Highlighting the significance of MNREGA, Siddaramaiah said the Act was introduced during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tenure to provide a legal right to employment for the rural poor. “It was a landmark step to address unemployment, food insecurity and the problems of forest dwellers,” he said, adding that legislations such as the Right to Food, Right to Information, Right to Education and Forest Rights Act were part of the same rights-based framework.
He pointed out that over the past 20 years, MNREGA had provided employment to 12.16 crore workers across the country, including 6.21 crore women. Siddaramaiah alleged that the new law had diluted the core spirit of MNREGA. “Earlier, rural workers could demand work for up to 365 days in their own villages and on their own land. If work was denied, they could even approach the courts,” he said.
Under the new framework, he claimed, the Centre would decide the nature and location of work through notifications, forcing workers to comply. He further alleged that states would now be required to bear 40% of the expenditure, which would cost Karnataka alone around Rs 2,500 crore.
Calling the move an assault on Gandhian principles, the Chief Minister said, “This is not about Ram or Sita. By bringing in this law, they are killing Gandhi’s legacy once again.”
Reiterating his appeal, Siddaramaiah said the MNREGA Bachao Andolan must grow into a nationwide people’s movement to protect the rights of rural workers and preserve one of the country’s most significant social welfare
legislations.
