Hyderabad: StateBJP chief N Ramachander Rao has strongly criticised the resolution passed by the Telangana Assembly on the VB–G RAM G Act, accusing the Congress party of spreading falsehoods and indulging in political theatrics.

Addressing the media on Saturday, BJP Ramchander Rao said the Congress party’s sudden invocation of Mahatma Gandhi’s name in employment schemes was nothing more than “crocodile tears” and political drama.

Tracing the history of employment guarantee schemes, Rao pointed out that the Congress had launched the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana in 1989, later renamed multiple times until it became NREGA in 2005. “At none of these stages did the Congress feel the need to invoke Mahatma Gandhi. It was only on the eve of the 2009 elections that they renamed it MGNREGA for narrow political gains,” he said.

Rao also cited Rahul Gandhi’s own remarks during a 2021 interaction with Brown University, where he admitted the scheme’s vision was “running out of steam,” exposing Congress’s double standards.

Countering Congress’s claims, Rao outlined the key features of the VB–G RAM G Act. The Act expands guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, strengthens worker protections with unemployment allowances and compensation for delayed wages, and ensures decentralised planning through Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas. At least 50% of works will be executed locally, covering categories such as water conservation, infrastructure creation, livelihood-oriented projects, and disaster management.

The Act also emphasises women’s empowerment through provisions for self-help groups, skill centres, and income-enhancing activities. It balances agricultural needs by allowing seasonal pauses during peak sowing and harvesting, strengthens frontline workforce support, mandates social audits for transparency, and introduces technology-driven safeguards like biometric attendance and GIS verification to prevent fraud.

Rao asserted that the VB–G RAM G Act is a genuine reform aimed at strengthening rural livelihoods and empowering Panchayats for a “Viksit Bharat 2047.” He urged Congress to stop spreading misinformation and instead answer for its own record of opportunism and policy failures.