NEW DELHI: Criticising the opposition for politicising the renaming of the rural employment act, Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said their protest against the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAMG) failed to garner public support, as the scheme was widely accepted as an improvement over its predecessor, MGNREGA.
“They claimed to hold a 'Mahasangram' (intense struggle) on MGNREGA, but it turned out to be an event just for a photoshoot,” the minister said.
Responding to a discussion on the functioning of the Ministry of Rural Development, Chouhan accused the Congress of disregarding Mahatma Gandhi’s principles and renaming the scheme from NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) to MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) purely for electoral gain.
He further criticised the Congress for naming multiple schemes after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi, thereby promoting a “one-family” narrative and overlooking other national leaders and freedom fighters such as Chandra Shekhar Azad, Rani Lakshmi Bai, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Addressing opposition claims that reduced allocations to the scheme burden state governments, Chouhan stated that except for Karnataka, opposition-ruled states including Jharkhand, Kerala, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh had made budgetary provisions for implementing VB-GRAMG.
“From 2006–07 to 2013–14, the UPA government spent Rs 2,12,409 crore, while the Narendra Modi government has spent Rs 8,58,346.71 crore,” he said, adding that the current government allocated more funds to states than the UPA did. He also provided state-wise details of fund allocation for the scheme.
“Only one government has not made provisions in its budget for VB-GRAMG, and that is Karnataka. I do not understand the Congress party’s policy or intentions. One leader is making provisions, another Chief Minister is making provisions, yet another is not,” Chouhan said.
He added that VB-GRAMG incorporated safeguards to prevent misuse of funds, citing 11 lakh complaints of fake vouchers and bills under MGNREGA. The objective of VB-GRAMG is to increase employment from 100 to 125 days and promote holistic village development by empowering Gram Sabhas to prepare development plans.
Chouhan also claimed that the Modi government had not discriminated against any state in the release of funds, though a West Bengal MP objected, alleging that funds were blocked despite court orders.
Comparing the total ministry expenditure under UPA and NDA regimes, Chouhan noted that while Rs 4.9 lakh crore were spent from 2004 to 2014, the NDA government spent Rs 15.2 lakh crore from 2014 to 2025.