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Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Saturday criticised the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the reports of renaming the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as the "Pujya Bapu Rural Employment Scheme", raising strong objection to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme.
"Has the BJP ever done anything besides changing names?... I have the strongest objection to this because it was initiated by the UPA. There is only one Mahatma Gandhi in the world..." he said. Speaking to ANI, he further alleged that the BJP government has hate and disgust for Mahatma Gandhi and deep admiration for Nathuram Godse, the Hindu nationalist who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948. "I don't know why the BJP has so much fear, hatred and disgust for Mahatma Gandhi and love for Godse... There are many Gandhis that the BJP is scared of...They have changed its (MGNREGA) name to Bapu. Some saints also call themselves Bapu..." he stated. Meanwhile, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also reacted to the reports of renaming the MGNREGA scheme as the Pujya Bapu Rural Employment Scheme, saying that a lot of government resources are spent on the renaming process, citing it as "unnecessary." Speaking to reporters, the Congress MP said she doesn't understand the rationale behind the decision to rename the MGNREGA scheme, which she says brings unnecessary costs. "I can't understand what mentality is behind this. First, this is Mahatma Gandhi's name, and when it is changed, the government's resources are spent on it again. From offices to stationery, everything has to be renamed, so this is a big, costly process. So what's the benefit of doing this unnecessarily? I can't understand," she said. MGNREGA is an employment scheme under the Ministry of Rural Development that provides at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled work. Any Indian citizen aged 18 or above and residing in a rural area can apply to this scheme. The applicant receives guaranteed employment within 15 days of the date of application. The wage is deposited directly into the Bank Account / Post Office Account of the applicant. Wages are paid within a week or, at most, within fifteen days. Men and Women are paid equally. MGNREGA covers the entire country with the exception of districts that have a hundred per cent urban population. (ANI)
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