Mounesh Vishwakarma

Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal

Bantwal, Feb 11: KPCC coordinator Sudheer Kumar Murulya on Tuesday alleged that the Union government has altered the original structure of the MGNREGA scheme with the intention of weakening rural employment, and criticised the reported renaming and restructuring of the programme.

He was addressing a public meeting held at Farangipete as part of the ‘MNREGA Bachao Sangram Padyatra’ organised by the Dakshina Kannada District Congress. The meeting was hosted jointly by the Mudipu and Ullal Block Congress Committees.

Murulya said MGNREGA was launched during the UPA government as a people-centric and ambitious scheme aimed at providing employment to rural households. “The scheme was named after Mahatma Gandhi in keeping with his vision of Gram Swaraj. But the present government, which upholds an ideology that justifies Gandhi’s assassination, has changed his name from the scheme. There is nothing surprising in that,” he alleged.

He further claimed that when the Congress introduced the scheme, its sole intention was to guarantee employment to rural citizens, without considerations of caste or religion. “The objective was to provide work for 365 days in villages, with decisions taken locally. Now, because of the changes, decisions relating to village works are being made in New Delhi,” he said.

Murulya asserted that the Congress would continue its agitation until the scheme is restored to its original form. “Through continuous struggle, we will ensure that the scheme is brought back to its earlier structure in your hands. It is certain that the Congress will form the government at the Centre in the coming term,” he added.

Among those present were MLC Ivan D’Souza; Dakshina Kannada District Congress president K Harish Kumar; corporation chairpersons D S Mamata Gatti and Shalet Pinto; MUDA chairman Sadashiva Ullal; former Zilla Panchayat members Chandraprakash Shetty Thumbe and M S Mohammed; Dakshina Kannada District Youth Congress president Ibrahim Nawaz; District Women’s Congress president Appi; Usha Anchan; former mayor M Shashidhar Hegde; Mudipu Block Congress president Prashanth Kajava; Ullal Block leader Ramesh Bolyar; Pudu Grama Panchayat president Ramlan Maripalla; and party leaders Subhash Chandra Shetty Kulalu, Abbas Ali, Shahul Hameed, Vrinda Meramajalu and Shailaja Rajesh.

KPCC member Ummar Farooq Farangipete welcomed the gathering. Former Ira Grama Panchayat president Abdul Razak Kukkaje compered the programme.