Congress scion Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark against MGNREGA in the Lok Sabha back in 2015. He said that he was shocked to hear PM Modi call the scheme a living monument of the failures of the UPA. It made me realise that the PM actually had not understood the depth of MGNREGA.
While he was addressing the MGNREGA Workers’ Meet at Koliyadi, in Sulthan Batheri in Wayanad district, Rahul Gandhi said, “PM Modi had not understood that MGNREGA has forever transformed the Indian labour market. He had not understood that MGNREGA was, for millions and millions of Indian people, the last resort and huge protection.”
“He (PM) called it a drain on the exchequer and dole for poor people,” Gandhi noted.
Speaking about the scheme, he said, “Before MGNREGA, there used to be a minimum wage but no one was bothered about that wage. So it provided a floor below which no body would be asked to work. But the other idea of the scheme was that it should be an evolving idea – a dynamic-changing idea that guarantees a floor below which no Indian person should ever work.”
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“The other part of MGNREGA was that we should use our people to build infrastructure and the idea was to build India with dignity. So it was designed to protect our people and in no way it was a dole or charity,” he added.
Terming MGNREGA as a revolutionary scheme, Rahul Gandhi slammed PM Modi by stating that, “I felt, of course, the PM didn’t comment about MGNREGA then (during Covid) and he doesn’t comment about it now. It became obvious that what he called a monument of the failures of UPA was actually what protected India during Covid.”
‘MGNREGA WASN’T AN EASY TASK’
Rahul Gandhi said, “MGNREGA wasn’t an easy thing to achieve and as you know, it was conceptualised, developed and implemented by the UPA. And I remember when the idea was first mentioned and I was one of the people who was involved from the beginning, there was tremendous resistance from the beginning.”
INCREASE NUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT DAYS
In addition to this, Rahul Gandhi said that the central government must seriously consider increasing the number of days of employment under the MGNREGA scheme. It should be increased from 100 to 200 days and a hike in wages too. And I think we also have to think about how to apply the idea of MGNREGA to urban employment, he added.
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WHAT PM MODI HAD SAID
Back in February 2015, PM Modi stood in Parliament during the budget session and spoke about whether or not his government would continue the MGNREGA — Congress party’s flagship programme guaranteeing 100 days of manual work every year to at least one member of every village household.
He said, “Do you think I will disband the scheme? My political wisdom does not allow me to do it. This is a living monument of your failure to tackle poverty in 60 years.”
He further added, “You had to send people to dig ditches and pay them. With song and dance and drum beat, I will continue with the scheme.”
RAHUL GANDHI IN KERALA
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Kerala on Friday, July 1, on a three-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, Wayanad, during which he was scheduled to attend various programmes, including the inauguration of a farmers’ bank’s building and a UDF Bahujana Sangamam.