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Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday strongly criticised the Centre's VB-G RAM-G law, alleging that it was introduced to weaken and eventually dismantle the MGNREGA scheme.
He asserted that the employment guarantee programme is a constitutional right linked to Article 21 of the Constitution. He noted that under the earlier framework, the Centre covered 90% of the cost of infrastructure projects, while the state contributed only 10%. According to him, the new Bill alters the funding structure and threatens the scheme's survival."Every citizen was provided work through Article 21. In the entire country, Kanakapura is the constituency where I conducted the NREGA experiment. The BJP team conducted an investigation there, alleging irregularities. Previously, to construct buildings, the State Government had to contribute only 10%, while the Central Government provided 90%. They have now brought this new Bill to 'kill' this scheme and program," DK Shivakumar told reporters. He added that the entire Panchayati Raj system and its officials were alarmed by the proposed changes, particularly the shift in the funding ratio from 90:10 to 60:40. He alleged that the Bill was deliberately designed to end the employment guarantee programme and said he never expected the BJP to interfere with what he described as a constitutional right introduced by the Congress. Shivakumar also accused the BJP of undermining a programme named after Mahatma Gandhi, calling it an attack on a constitutional guarantee. He claimed the Centre's move reflected the beginning of the BJP's political decline and said Congress leaders would raise the issue at a meeting in Delhi. "This is evidence of the beginning of the BJP's final days. We never imagined they would 'strangle' a scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi. Minister Priyank Kharge has called for a meeting regarding this in Delhi tomorrow. We will have an in-depth discussion about it. We will make our Gram Panchayats strong," he said. (ANI)
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