BJP now promoting MGNREGA with new names: Congress

The BJP-led NDA government initially criticised the flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA but now they are promoting it, and other UPA government's programme, by increasing the funds allocated to them and with new names, a senior Congress leader said here today.
"After coming to power, the Centre cut down budgets on schemes like MNREGA but now they realise their importance and (are) enhancing funding to such flagship programmes launched during the UPA government," Congress Spokesman, Sandeep Dixit told reporters.
He was speaking at the party office here on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the launch of MGNREGA.
To a query, he admitted that the Congress-led UPA government was unable to implement MNREGA properly in the last four years of its second term. Besides, it also failed to publicise properly the food security scheme.

However, the Narendra Modi-led government is popularising these schemes with new names and by branding them afresh in order to save its 'declining image', he said.
Earlier, addressing a function here, Congress general secretary and in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Prakash criticised the Modi-led government saying it talks of Smart India, Digital India, Make In India, Start Up India but never speaks of 'Village India'.
"When will they talk about Village India," he asked?
State Congress president Arun Yadav also said that earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi had termed MGNREGA a 'living monument of INC failure', but he is now promoting it in a major way.