Nongpoh, January 10: Following reports in the media that the Congress party, both at the national and state levels, has been attempting to mislead the public after the renaming of the MGNREGA scheme, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Ri Bhoi district, led by their President Sen Thaba, have strongly hit back, accusing the Congress of making baseless allegations and misleading the people over the renaming of the scheme.
Speaking to the media, BJP Ri Bhoi President Sen Thaba and Himanta Timung, State President of the BJP ST Morcha, clarified to the people of Ri Bhoi district and the state at large that the renaming of the MGNREGA scheme to the VB-GRAMG Act, 2025, has no adverse impact on the public.
On the contrary, they said, the renamed scheme continues to provide even greater benefits to the people of the state and the country.
They stated that the renaming of welfare and development schemes is not something that has happened only during the BJP’s tenure.
Even during previous Congress-led governments, several development programmes were renamed.
Therefore, the criticism by the Congress following the renaming of the MGNREGA scheme is merely an attempt to find fault and mislead the public, they said.
The BJP leaders further pointed out that after the renaming, the daily wage employment scheme has been strengthened and improved. They said the number of guaranteed workdays has been increased from 100 days to 125 days, and that 90 percent of the funding is provided by the Central Government, with only 10 percent contributed by the state government.
They added that, apart from enhancing wage employment, the scheme has also expanded opportunities for more developmental works in villages.
The BJP-led government, they said, is also committed to ensuring the timely release of funds so that people can benefit from development works as well as receive their wages without delay.
Strongly criticising the Congress, the BJP leaders alleged that the party’s attempts to mislead the public stem from its hunger for power and fear of losing political relevance.
They maintained that, in reality, the renaming of the scheme will not negatively affect the public in any way, and urged the people of the state not to be misled or influenced by what they described as false narratives being spread by the Congress party.
