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MGNREGA
The Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution urging the Centre to immediately repeal VB-G RAM G and reinstate MGNREGA amid walkout by the opposition BJP and its ally JD(S). The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday, which was accepted by the House today. Opposition Leader R Ashoka said the party opposes the resolution moved by the ruling Congress and supports the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G). He also reiterated his party's demand that Excise Minister R B Timmapur should resign as there was a large scale corruption to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore in the Excise Department. The BJP leader on Tuesday alleged that the scam money was used for funding Congress in the poll-bound states. The BJP had on Tuesday staged an overnight agitation inside the Karnataka Assembly, which continued throughout Wednesday. The party raised slogans in the Assembly disrupting the proceedings demanding Timmapur's ...
The Union government is continuously attacking the poor and undermining their statutory right to employment, the Congress' Delhi unit said Friday at a protest against the removal of the MGNREGA scheme. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, who attended the "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra" event, said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) gave legal right to employment benefiting lakhs of families but the the Centre was "eroding" these provisions. The VB-G RAM G scheme dilutes the the UPA-era MGNREGA's original spirit, he said. Addressing the protest at AICC office, Akbar Road, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Dharmendra Yadav said the government's actions signalled a "continuous attack on the poor." The Congress has launched a 45-day nationwide "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra" campaign, demanding the repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of the original MGNREGA. "This government is continuously attacking the poor. People who w
President Droupadi Murmu's reference to the VB-G RAM G Act in her address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on Wednesday sparked protests from opposition parties which raised slogans demanding a roll back of the law. In her address, the President said the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) would provide guarantee for 125 days of work, and would also stop corruption and leakages. She also asserted that it would provide a new impetus to rural development. While the President's mention of the VB-G RAM G Act was welcomed by treasury benches by thumping of desks, Opposition members raised slogans demanding roll back of the law. President Murmu paused during her address as the opposition raised slogans like "vapas lo" (roll back the Act). The Act is set to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Opposition parties are demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of MGNRE
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday adopted a resolution urging the Centre to continue with the MGNREGA to protect the livelihoods of the rural population in the state. The resolution was moved by Chief Minister M K Stalin. Referring to the latest rural employment scheme Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) introduced by the Centre, Stalin said, "the proposed new scheme replaces the MGNREGA and is designed in a manner that undermines the livelihoods of rural people across India, the financial structure of the states, the self-reliance of the local bodies and employment opportunities for the rural women." Stalin noted that the all initiatives whether it is an infrastructure project or a scheme to uplift the livelihoods of the people, all the programmes were implemented efficiently without discrimination in Tamil Nadu. "In several Union government projects, Tamil Nadu ranks first in India and continues to receive appreciation from various ...
The Congress on Saturday launched its 45-day nationwide campaign -- MGNREGA Bachao Sangram -- against the repeal of the UPA-era rural employment law by holding press conferences at every district. The opposition party's agitation demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law in its original form, the right to work, and the authority of panchayats, will continue till February 25. Press conferences were held at all district headquarters on Saturday, highlighting the manner in which MGNREGA was repealed and replaced by the VB-G RAM G Act in the Winter Session of Parliament. This will be followed by a day-long fast and symbolic protests at the district headquarters on January 11. "Today, the Indian National Congress is launching the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram with a press conference at each of the District Congress Committee offices across the country. "The Congress is committed to seeing this struggle through until we secure the restorati
The Congress will launch its Save MGNREGA Movement' in Assam on Saturday as part of a nationwide agitation against the VB-G RAM G Act, the new rural employment scheme, a party leader said. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Assam Manoj Chauhan said the party will continue its agitation until the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission Gramin Act (VBG RAM G), which has replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), is withdrawn. "The new Act has effectively removed the guaranteed employment that workers earlier enjoyed under MGNREGA and is an attempt to snatch away several constitutional rights. In this context, the Congress has intensified its agitation against the move across the country," Chauhan said here on Thursday. As part of the nationwide protest, the Save MGNREGA Movement' will be launched in Assam from January 10 with press conferences at district headquarters, he said. "District Congress ...
The Congress on Saturday announced a nationwide 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' from January 10 to February 25 to demand the withdrawal of the VB G-RAM-G Act, and restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law, the right to work, and the authority of panchayats. Addressing a joint press conference, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh said through the new VBG RAM G Act, the Centre has ensured complete centralisation as employment will no longer be a right under the new Act, which will be challenged in court. On whether the states ruled by the INDIA bloc constituents would not implement the new Act or oppose it, Venugopal said the Congress would hold consultations with all the alliance partners on the way forward. The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Bill, or VB-G RAM G, was passed with a voice vote amid protests in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it. On December 21, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to t
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the move to bring a resolution against the VB-G RAM G Act in the Punjab assembly was undemocratic and against the basic spirit of the Constitution, which reflected "blind opposition" politics. Addressing a press conference here, Chouhan said it is the Constitutional responsibility of states to abide by Parliamentary laws. The AAP government on Tuesday brought a resolution against the VB-G RAM G Act in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and accused the BJP-led Centre of trying to finish the MGNREGA. Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond tabled the resolution in the House for discussion during the one-day session of the assembly. Chouhan targeted opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, saying he lives in a "world of imagination" and has no connection with the realities of the country. "Speaking out whatever comes to one's mind is not responsible politics," Chouhan said. He was referring to Gandhi's recent claim that
The AAP government on Tuesday brought a resolution against the VB-G RAM G Act in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and accused the BJP-led Centre of trying to finish the MGNREGA. Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond tabled the resolution in the House for discussion during the one-day session of the assembly. Sond said that the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, Act will severely impact below-poverty-line families, Scheduled Caste communities, and rural labourers who depend on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for survival. Sond alleged that the Centre wanted to "finish" the MGNREGA, and demanded its restoration. According to the resolution, the state assembly deprecated the VB-G RAM G Act, which it said takes away the right to guaranteed wages/employment from poor labourers, women, and lakhs of job card-holding families of the state. It recommended that the state government take up the
Veteran Congress leader A K Antony on Sunday accused the Centre of "attempting to dilute" the basic principles of MGNREGA and gradually dismantle the programme. He alleged that it is a clear evidence of an attack on social justice, and called for a strong protest through Gandhian methods against such moves. Antony was speaking after hoisting the party flag at the KPCC office here and receiving a guard of honour from Seva Dal volunteers as part of the celebrations marking the 141st foundation day of the Indian National Congress. According to the former Defence Minister, the present situation in the country is not conducive to celebrate the Congress foundation day, and it is time to reflect on Gandhian methods of struggle to strongly protest nationwide and to protect India. Those at the Centre are attempting to glorify Godse instead of Gandhiji and are dividing the people instead of following the Gandhian path. He further alleged that a regime which considers Savarkar as a national
A nationwide campaign was needed against the repeal of the rural employment scheme MGNREGA, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday, pointing to the three farm laws that the government was eventually forced to repeal following strong opposition against it. Speaking at the Congress Working Committee meeting here, Kharge also said that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was a "well-planned conspiracy" to limit democratic rights. He said the meeting was being held at a time when the democracy, Constitution and citizen's rights were under serious threat. He said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was a visionary legislation of the UPA government, which was appreciated across the world. The scheme was named after Mahatma Gandhi due to the impact it had, Kharge said. "The Modi government has, without any study, evaluation or consultation with states and political parties, repealed the law. This is just as they did with