The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) proposed move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is an insult to the father of the nation, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph said here.
In his statement here, Mr. Joseph said that the BJP’s agenda since it came to power was to ignore history and belittle national leaders. The Union government’s move to rename MGNREGS and remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the name of the scheme was a deliberate insult to the Mahatma, he added.
This systematic erasure of the Mahatma’s name is a sign of how much the BJP feared his legacy and memory. Despite the BJP’s efforts to erase the Mahatma’s name, it will not succeed as his name is inexorably woven into the soul of the nation, he said.
During the winter session of Parliament on Monday, the Union government introduced the Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen) Viksit Bharat Guarantee Bill, abbreviated as VB G RAM G, which will replace MNREGS.
The KPCC chairman said that if the center is sincere about improving the system, it should ensure that the wages to be paid by the state are released on time and the 100 days of guaranteed work should be increased to 150 days.
He accused the Center of consistently adopting policies aimed at destroying the employment guarantee system. The center introduced many restrictions on the use of system funds and the number of working days was reduced.
Plan funds for the program have been capped at 60% and the Union Government has consistently reduced the allocation in every budget, Mr. Joseph said.
MGNREGS, launched by the UPA government in 2005, guarantees 100 days of work every year in rural areas. Over the past two decades, it has been hailed as a game-changing law.
Increased days
The new bill proposes to increase the guaranteed working days to 125 and to pay wages within a week or 15 days after the end of work. In the event of non-compliance with this deadline, there is a provision for the payment of unemployment benefits.
But a key change in the system – from a 100% centrally sponsored system to a joint centre-state system with a 60:40 funding ratio – could disrupt states’ budget plans.
Published – 15 Dec 2025 21:58 IST
