Shillong, Jan 5: The Meghalaya unit of the BJP on Monday defended the newly enacted Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Grameen Act (VB-G-RAM-G), accusing the Congress of spreading misinformation.
“Misinformation is being spread out on the newly introduced Act that the scheme will snatch away rural employment. The truth is rural households will enjoy the legal guarantee of work and unemployment allowance if work is not provided,” State BJP Spokesperson Wankitbok Pohshna told reporters.
He stated that the Congress claims were false and that the party “lied to mislead”. “The truth is that the Act expands the opportunities for our rural households by increasing the guaranteed employment not just only 100 days but now to 125 days,” he said.
He said that the new rural employment guarantee Act is a vision – instead of a temporary relief, everyday labour now builds durable assets. Under the new scheme, roads, irrigation canals, schools and community infrastructure will be built that will uplift the village for generations, he stated.
“This will not only be about employment guarantee but also an empowerment to our rural folks,” he added.
On the opposition’s claims that the Gram Sabhas are being weakened, the BJP spokesperson said that this institution remains central to planning, while new transparency measures which will ensure wages reach workers, without any leakages.
On the 90:10 sharing of funds between centre and state, Pohshna said that this will ensure accountability and higher returns on investment.
The BJP spokesperson said that the Visit Bharat Gram G is not about reducing rural employment but also about strengthening livelihood, security, modernizing rural development and ensuring dignity of work.
Pohshna said that the claim that this scheme is politically motivated is far from the truth.
He said that the Visit Bharat Gram G Act is a stronger, fairer and more visionary guarantee for the rural folks.
The VB-G RAM G, was passed, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a voice vote amid protests in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, last year, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it.
On December 21, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Bill, making it an Act, which seeks to replace the rural employment law, MGNREGA, guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per rural household every financial year.
