The Congress on Tuesday slammed the BJP over reported attendance fraud within the VB-G RAM G scheme, saying that "attacking" the rights of the poor while invoking the name of Lord Shri Ram was its true modus operandi.
Congress general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh shared the screenshot of a media report which claimed that a method of fraud has come to light within the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, or the VB G RAM G Act, scheme with a clone app, resembling the official National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app, being used to mark mass attendance using photos stored on mobile phones.
In a post in Hindi on X, Ramesh said, "First, the theft of donations made in the name of Lord Shri Ram; then, an assault on the right to 100 days of employment under MGNREGA; and now, a scheme of state-sponsored plunder of the poor through fake attendance records in the VB-G RAM G programme!"
Invoking the name of Lord Ram, yet striking at the poor and looting their right to employment, Ramesh said.
"This is not merely corruption; it is a betrayal of faith and a theft of the poor's rights - all in the name of devotion and employment," he said.
The BJP's politics reflect neither genuine reverence for Lord Shri Ram nor empathy for the poor, Ramesh alleged.
"Engaging in power politics and attacking the rights of the poor while invoking the name of Lord Shri Ram - this is the BJP's true modus operandi, character, and face," Ramesh said.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, or the VB G RAM G Act, came into force across the country from July 1, replacing the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), introduced by the Congress-led UPA.
(With inputs from PTI)