BJP destroyed MGNREGA scheme: TNCC president Manickam Tagore

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President B. Manickam Tagore | Photo credit: The Hindu

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B. Manickam Tagore on Wednesday (July 9, 2026) slammed Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran for digging up The National Herald case while continuing to support the BJP-led central government’s move to “destroy” the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme despite the Tamdatiludam Centre-State funding change. against the move of the Congress government in Karnataka.

In his statement, Mr. Tagore said that Mr. Nagendran must provide an answer to the issue of misappropriation of donated funds in the Ayodhya Ram temple and the financial injustice meted out to Tamil Nadu.

“By changing the Centre-State funding ratio from 90:10 to 60:40, you will impose an additional financial burden of ₹ 5,000 crore on Tamil Nadu while depriving the poor rural people of their rights. This scheme is tantamount to ‘killing Mahatma Gandhi a second time!'” You call this ‘development for all’? he asked, adding, “The Special Investigation Team revealed that ₹ 6-8 lakh was allegedly stolen every day from the Ayodhya Ram Temple Trust in the form of donations. Is that your definition of ‘corruption-free’? Why are you silent on the irregularities in the Dwarka Expressway project and the Ayushman Bharat scheme revealed by the recent CAG reports?”

He further said, “It is amusing that Nainar Nagendran, who heads the BJP, which has been completely rejected by the people of Tamil Nadu and has failed to create any foothold in the state, has the audacity to mock the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s stand on the Mekedat issue. The people of Tamil Nadu are watching and laughing.”

“Everyone knows that whether Karnataka is ruled by Congress or BJP, Tamil Nadu’s voice in the Cauvery water dispute has never been properly taken into account. I think Nainar Nagendran has forgotten that when BJP was in power in Karnataka, Chief Ministers BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai repeatedly said that the Tamil people would definitely not build the Medake Dam.” Yediyurappa even came all the way to the Tamil Nadu border to organize a protest demanding construction of the Mekedatu dam,” the Congress leader said.

Published – 09 Jul 2026 02:37 IST