"PM Modi is taking this scheme to next level": BJP's Annamalai lauds VB-G RAM-G scheme

"The scheme provides job opportunities for up to 125 days. Prime Minister Modi is taking this 20-year-old scheme to the next level. Through this scheme, employment for 125 days is guaranteed. This is a wonderful scheme," Annamalai said.

His remarks came after Congress stepped up its attack on the Centre's newly enacted Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), with senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had deliberately removed Mahatma Gandhi's name to undermine rural development.

Speaking to the media in Prayagraj, Tiwari said the issue was not merely about renaming a scheme but about erasing Gandhi's legacy. "It would have been fine if they had also changed the name to Ram, but they only wanted to remove Gandhi's name. Godse had ended Gandhi ji by firing three bullets, but the current BJP has murdered Gandhi once again by amending the law and running the bulldozer of majority," he alleged.

Tiwari further claimed that the move would "halt rural development" and termed the removal of Gandhi's name from MGNREGA as "unfortunate."

On Sunday, Congress workers staged a protest under the banner 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' at Townhall Park in Varanasi.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai, along with party workers, observed a symbolic fast near the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. "We are on a fast. Around the Mahatma Gandhi and Bhimrao Ambedkar statue, we are sitting on a fast. This government ended the MGNREGA law, and to protest that each of our Congress workers is sitting on the streets," Rai told ANI.

He added that the party wanted to "remove those who want to remove Mahatma Gandhi's name."The Congress leader also outlined the party's future course of action, stating that rallies would be organised across Uttar Pradesh, culminating in a major rally in Lucknow to be attended by Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other national leaders. (ANI)