Congress protests against removal of Gandhi’s name from MGNREGA

Congress leaders, including ministers, said the BJP “shivers at the mention of Gandhi’s name” and accused the party of trying to erase the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru from the country’s collective memory.

Protesting against the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) held a demonstration at the Gandhi statue in Secunderabad, on the call of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

TPCC chief and MLC Mahesh Kumar Goud criticized the BJP-led Central government for what he called an “anti-democratic and vindictive decision”. He claimed that BJP leaders were unhappy with the legacy of the Gandhi family.

He alleged that the BJP’s move to remove Gandhi’s name from the employment guarantee scheme was due to his ideological closeness to Nathuram Godse. The plan was developed by Sonia Gandhi and the then Prime Minister Dr. It was introduced following Manmohan Singh’s sustained efforts to provide 100 days of guaranteed employment to rural households, he recalled.

Stating that Vedma Bojju, who later became MLA, once worked under the employment guarantee scheme, he emphasized the role of the scheme in empowering the poor.

Minister of IT and Industry Sridhar Babu said that Mahatma Gandhi’s name is engraved in people’s hearts and cannot be erased by any government decision.

Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao said the move undermines the dignity of every Indian and weakens the historic plan put in place by the Congress to support the poorest of the poor.

Ministers Vakiti Srihari, Vivek Venkataswamy, Ponnam Prabhakar and Mohammad Azharuddin, former MP V. Hanumantha Rao, MLA Vedma Bojju, TPCC general secretaries, senior leaders and party cadres also participated in the protest.