Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday expressed strong objection to the Central Government’s preparations to abolish the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA) and bring a new law. He questioned why Mahatma Gandhi’s name was being removed from this scheme and what was the government’s motive behind this step.
New law in place of MNREGA
The government is preparing to introduce a bill in the Lok Sabha to repeal the ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ (MNREGA) and replace it with a new law named ‘Developed India – Employment and Livelihood Guarantee Mission (Rural) Bill, 2025’ (Developed India – GRAMG). Copies of the bill have been distributed to Lok Sabha members.
Priyanka Gandhi raised questions on name change
Speaking to the media in the Parliament complex, Priyanka Gandhi registered her objection to the proposed renaming of MNREGA. He said, “There is an expense in changing the name of a scheme. Why are they removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi? What is their motive?” His statement comes in response to the government’s possible plan to rename MNREGA as ‘Developed India – Employment and Livelihood Guarantee Mission (Rural) Bill, 2025’.
Criticism of the government on the deadlock in Parliament
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Lok Sabha member from Wayanad, Kerala, also targeted the central government over the ongoing deadlock in Parliament. He claimed that it seems that the government does not want to run the House itself. “The government itself is obstructing Parliament. I think the government does not want to run Parliament at all,” he told reporters. Priyanka Gandhi also said that opposition parties had demanded discussion on important issues like pollution in Parliament, but that discussion is also not taking place.
