Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 22 (ANI): At a press conference held at Guwahati, All India Congress Committee (AICC) National Spokesperson Ragini Nayak criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the renaming of the MGNREGA scheme. She said that instead of claiming to work for “18 hours a day”, if the Prime Minister had even worked sincerely for “18 months in the last 11 years.”, there would have been no need to rename the schemes implemented by their party.
She said in the press conference, “Those who do no work themselves are the ones who spend their time renaming the work done by others. If the person who claims to work 18 hours a day had actually worked sincerely even for 18 months in the last 11 years, there would have been no need to rename the schemes implemented by the Congress,” criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the renaming of the MGNREGA scheme.
Nayak said, ” If one were to prepare a list of the number of Congress-implemented schemes whose names have been changed by the Modi government and then projected as its own, the exercise would take the entire day from morning till evening.”
Addressing an important press conference held on Sunday at the Manavendra Sharma Complex in Guwahati, she said, “The BJP renamed the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan of the Manmohan Singh government as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The symbol of Swachh Bharat was Gandhiji’s spectacles. The BJP could appropriate Gandhiji’s spectacles, but it has never been able to adopt Gandhiji’s vision. The BJP and the RSS are filled with hatred towards Gandhiji, Nehru and other great national leaders. That is why the BJP did not hesitate to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the MGNREGA scheme.”
Stating that “Lord Ram” is being used to cover up the government’s failures, Nayak also targeted the BJP over the new name of MGNREGA. She said, “After renaming MGNREGA as VB-G RAM G, no one can even properly remember its full meaning. The full name is Viksit Bharat-Guarantee Rozgar Aajeevika Mission Gramin. Modi has reduced Hindi and English to such a state that only someone with an entire political science degree can understand what it means.”
Nayak said that behind the removal of Gandhiji’s name and the forceful addition of the word ‘Ram’ lies the deceitful politics of Modi and the BJP. “Now Modi will say that Congress cannot tolerate the name of Ram. Let us make it clear that Congress has no objection to the name “Ram”. Our problem is with those who chant Ram’s name while stabbing the people in the back. Our problem is with the party that repeatedly drags Maryada Purushottam Ram into politics,” she said.
The Congress leader further explained at the press conference what kind of political game the Modi government is trying to play with the country’s ordinary people by removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from MGNREGA. She said the Modi-led NDA government is not limiting itself to renaming the scheme; it is also attempting to weaken MGNREGA itself.
“Under the UPA government, the right to guaranteed employment was recognised as a legal right under Article 21 of the Constitution. Through MGNREGA, crores of people across the country benefited from this right. Now, under VB-G RAM G, the right has been removed and reduced to a mere promise,” said Nayak, adding that there is no bigger “deceiver” than PM Modi when it comes to making promises and failing to fulfil them.
She further said that earlier, MGNREGA was fully funded by the Central government, but under the new scheme, states will now have to bear 40 per cent of the expenditure. “The same Central government has not cleared GST arrears amounting to up to Rs. 10,000 crore to several state governments till date. From where will these states now arrange additional funds for ‘VB-G RAM G’? This has become a million-rupee question,” she said.
Nayak alleged that, “Although Prime Minister Modi speaks of increasing guaranteed employment from 100 days to 125 days, even payment for 25 days may soon become impossible. Earlier, MGNREGA could not be stopped by directions from either the Centre or the states. However, under ‘VB-G RAM G’, provisions have been made to stop work for various reasons. In this manner, the Modi government is engaged in a conspiracy to destroy the world’s largest employment guarantee law and scheme.”
She asserted that Congress will not allow such an important law and scheme, which represents ” Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of India”, to be destroyed so easily.
At the press conference, Nayak also exposed what she described as the BJP and Modi government’s lies regarding the National Herald case. “The BJP and the Modi government turned a molehill into a mountain. But the special court has clearly established that the entire case was baseless and built on a mountain of lies. By turning investigative agencies into puppets, the Modi government staged this drama for years to suppress the opposition. Now that the truth has come out, they are unable to hide their embarrassment,” she said.
Nayak said that Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have become rattled by Rahul Gandhi’s lone fight against the BJP’s divisive politics, carrying the Constitution in his hands and opening a ‘shop of love’ in the ‘market of hatred’ to unite the country. “To run the country, one does not need a 56-inch chest; one needs a leader like Rahul Gandhi who understands the pain of the people,” she said.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for 55 hours, she said, “They found nothing. This is the true example of the courage and patience of an honest leader.” She added that since 2014, only one per cent of the cases pursued by the ED have been proven true, clearly exposing how Modi is misusing investigative agencies against the opposition.
“No matter how much one tries to suppress the truth, truth ultimately prevails. That is exactly what has happened in the National Herald case. How the CBI and ED were misused is now out in the open,” she said, adding that despite thousands of obstacles, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress will continue to raise their voice against the anti-people policies of the Modi government. Modi’s dream of a Congress-mukt Bharat, she said, will remain nothing more than a fantasy forever.
Responding to a journalist’s question regarding the Prime Minister’s remark that “Congress did not accord due honour to Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi”, AICC General Secretary in charge of Assam, Prithviraj Sathe, said it was shocking that a person holding the office of the Prime Minister could make such false statements.
“I am astonished that a Prime Minister can be so ignorant of history. Everyone knows who ran the government in West Bengal in alliance with the Muslim League before Independence; it was the RSS-backed forces. And now Modi is blaming Congress. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claims that Assam has been flooded with Bangladeshis because of Congress, but why does he not say that one of his own party’s MLAs is of Bangladeshi origin?” Sathe said.
He further said, “Modi is saying whatever comes to his mind about Gopinath Bordoloi. At that time, the principal leader of the Congress in Assam was Gopinath Bordoloi himself. He was our leader. We have always been proud of him. We always remember his struggle to protect Assam’s identity. Even today, the Congress continues to fight to protect the identity of the Assamese people, be it the anti-CAA movement or the demand for ST status for six communities. We have always worked for the future of Assam and the Assamese people. It was for the protection of Assamese identity that our then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the Assam Accord.”
The APCC Media and Communication Department Chairperson, Bedabrata Bora and the department’s Coordinator, Harshad Sharm, were also present at Sunday’s press conference. (ANI)
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