All 6,000 GPs in state to be named after Gandhi: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced that all 6,000 gram panchayats (GPs) in the state would be named after Mahatma Gandhi.

Addressing the ‘MNREGA bachao sangram’ rally at Freedom Park here on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah slammed the Modi government for scrapping MGNREGA scheme as well as dropping Gandhi’s name in new scheme (Viksit Bharat- Guarantee for Rozgar Ajeevika Mission Grameen Act).

“The BJP government cannot tolerate Mahatma Gandhi’s name. They intentionally named the new scheme with the word ‘Ram’ to play on people’s mind. But it is neither ‘Dasharatha Ram’, ‘Kaushalya Ram’ nor ‘Sita Ram’. There is no Ram in this Act. The BJP has scrapped programmes meant for the poor guided by RSS, which wants the poor to remain poor. Only Congress thinks of the poor,” he said.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said even as BJP and JD(S) alleged corruption in MGNREGA, his constituency Kanakapura had spent Rs 200 crore every year under the scheme and the Centre recognised it as most developed taluk.

“We urge the Centre through the governor to roll back the new law and restore MGNREGA. They are killing GPs, snatching powers of 7 lakh GPs and work from the poor. We will not stop till Centre repeals VB-G RAM G Act, like they withdrew farm laws after farmers’ protest”.

‘Owes Rs 70,000 crore’

AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “The Centre has hit livelihoods of 11 crore rural workers. State governments will need to bear 40% of the cost. But states have no money as Centre takes away
Rs 5 lakh crore under GST and cesses through Finance Commission. It owes Rs 70,000 crore to Karnataka alone. The employment guarantee will end on its own due to funds crunch”.

“The Centre, which waived corporates’ loans worth Rs 23 lakh crore, is unwilling to give Rs 1 lakh crore to MGNREGA to benefit 55 crore rural poor,” Surjewala said.

A delegation of Congress leaders led by the CM, DCM and Surjewala rode a BMTC bus to Lok Bhavan and submitted a memorandum to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, opposing scrapping of MGNREGA.