Hyderabad, Dec 22 (PTI) Congress leader K Raju on Monday dismissed the Centre’s claim of increasing the statutory wage employment guarantee under the new VB-G RAM G legislation from 100 to 125 days as a “hoax”.
Speaking to reporters here, Raju, a Permanent Invitee of Congress Working Committee (CWC), also said no Indian accepts the name change of MGNREGA.
Many people feel that “abhinav (modern) Godse has come and killed Mahatma Gandhi once again”, he claimed.
The Centre is releasing advertisements since Sunday, claiming that VB-G RAM G, which replaced MGNREGA is pro-poor, he said.
Though the statutory wage employment guarantee under MGNREGA was 100 days during the last 20 years, a family in the country could only realise 45 days on average due to funding issues and inadequate administrative response, he said.
“If you want to really help poor people, these impediments should be removed, funds released quickly and other steps taken for its implementation. Then the 45 days would have become 60 or 70 days. But, without paying attention to it, if you say that you are increasing the number of days from 100 to 125 only to deceive all, it is only a hoax,” he said.
The AICC has decided to launch an agitation against VB-G RAM G legislation with AICC leaders holding press conferences in all states initially, followed by state Congress units taking up programmes in respective states by mobilising MGNREGA workers, he said.
Pointing to the alleged flaw in VB-G RAM G legislation, Raju said there would be a gap of 60 days in work in a year under the new law, which takes away the “bargaining power” of workers and brings back “exploitative wage rates” of the past.
With the opportunity to work 365 days a year provided under MGNREGA, agriculture workers had bargaining power in demanding wages from farmers, saying they would go for MGNREGA works instead, he said.
Raju recalled that he had played a role in launching MGNREGA in 2006 in Anantapur district in undivided Andhra Pradesh as Principal Secretary (Rural Development).
The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi started the scheme there, he said.
He alleged that the present NDA government is “bulldozing” the scheme now. PTI SJR SJR ROH
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