BJP reduced allocation to MGNREGA: Congress

The Congress has criticised the Narendra Modi government for reduced allocation to United Progressive Alliance’s flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (Act) Scheme (MGNREGA). It claimed that no work for labourers at the village level through MGNREGA is one of the reasons behind the suicide of farmers.

MGNREGA completed 10 years of implementation across the nation on Tuesday. On this occasion, the state Congress organised a session at Aurangabad on Tuesday. Mr Vikhe-Patil said the aim of the scheme was to provide employment to the labourers at the village level. Though the scheme has brought drastic change in the life of labourers, the Modi government has stopped financial allocation to implement the scheme, he said. “The Union finance minister had assured the Supreme Court that the government would not stop or reduce fund to MGNREGA scheme,” said Mr Vikhe-Patil. He said the BJP government had changed the scheme, making it contractor-driven rather than labour-driven.

Mr Vikhe-Patil was interacting with mediapersons on Wednesday at Vidhan Bhavan after felicitating the newly elected members of Mantralaya and Vidhimandal Vartahar Sangh, the executive committee of journalists.