The Punjab Congress, on Thursday, took the lead in launching the first phase of the 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' announced by the party to seek the revival of the rural employment guarantee scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi. The 'sangram' started with a rally in Gurdaspur town, which was attended by senior party leaders and thousands of workers, labourers, farmers and marginalised sections of the society.
Congress leaders reiterated and reaffirmed their resolve that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre would be forced to revive the MGNREGA and withdraw the new law 'VB-G RAM G', the same way it was forced to withdraw the three controversial farm laws.
Speaking on the occasion, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and party General Secretary in-charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, said it was the Congress only which has always taken decisions in favour of the working people and the marginalised sections of society.
He added that MGNREGA, which was launched by the Congress government under the guidance of Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh in 2005, was not only acknowledged within the country, but was praised and appreciated across the world as 'pro-poor' scheme.
Baghel said that after the scheme was scrapped by the Narendra Modi-led Union government, the Congress leadership, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, decided to be the voice of the labourers and marginalised sections who will be hit by this and who do not have any of their own organisation which could fight for them.
The former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister also hit out at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, saying it was actually the "B-team" of the BJP. He said that the AAP government had not even provided 10 per cent of the share it was required to contribute to provide jobs for the rural poor.
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had revealed his hostility towards the MGNREGA from day one and described it as a failure. But he added, the fact is that the MGNREGA scheme was accepted and acknowledged as the best rural employment generation scheme across the world.
He said it had provided dignity to the rural poor and had also helped moving the rural economy as spending power of people had increased. Taking a sharp jibe at the BJP for claiming to provide 125 workdays under the new VB-G RAM G scheme, he added that the total implementation of the MGNREGA when 100 days of work had to be provided, was just 48 per cent.
In Punjab, Raja Warring said, it was not even one per cent under the AAP government. "When you cannot even provide 50 work days, how can anyone believe you when you say that you will be guaranteeing 125 work days?" he asked the BJP.