Congress has problem with the word 'Ram', for us it's life: Vasundhara Raje

Jaipur: Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Monday took a swipe at the Congress over its opposition to the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), saying the party has a problem with the word 'Ram'.

Addressing a women's conference in Dudhalia village to mark two years of the state government, Raje emphasised that the employment scheme was reformed and renamed G Ram G under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the Congress was opposing the move.

"The truth is that Congress has a problem with 'Ram'. For us, 'Ram' is life," she said.

Raje said former chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had advanced the idea of Antyodaya (upliftment of the last person), which she carried forward during her tenure, and claimed that Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma was now giving further momentum to the same vision.

Referring to initiatives taken during her tenure, Raje said her government had provided 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchayati Raj institutions and made women the head of households under the Bhamashah scheme.

She also said her government had introduced provisions for capital punishment in cases of sexual crimes against girls aged 12 years or below, and launched schemes to provide bicycles, scooters and sanitary napkins to girl students.

Raje noted that the present state government under Chief Minister Sharma has accelerated the implementation of these initiatives.