Minister counters Cong move on gram pradhans, MGNREGA workers

Key Highlights

• Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote to gram pradhans, ex-gram pradhans, Rojgar Sevaks and MGNREGA workers highlighting that Centre will “destroy the soul” of MGNREGA through the revised scheme.
• “Twenty years ago, Manmohan Singh’s government brought life to the constitutional right to work by enacting the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
• Since then, MGNREGA has generated 180 crore days of work, created almost 10 crore assets like village tanks and roads, and strengthened the panchayati raj system by empowering Gram Panchayats to decide village-level projects.
• During crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the lifeline of the rural Indian economy,” the letter reads.
• Countering the letter Minister states, “It is being said that the soul of MNREGA has been destroyed, while the truth is that the Congress only gave rights on paper.