Cong will make special provisions for MGNREGA, if it wins state poll: Baghel

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress general secretary in-charge for Punjab Bhupesh Baghel on Friday claimed that once the Congress government is formed in Punjab in 2027, it would make a special provision to restore the MGNREGA in the state.

He said if the BJP government did not revive it till 2029, the Congress government that would be formed at the Centre with Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister would revive it. He was addressing a 'Save MGNREGA' rally at Balachaur in Nawanshahr. He reiterated that the Congress was committed to the welfare of the poor. He accused the BJP government at the Centre of only working for a select few friends like Adani and Ambani.

Baghel alleged that the real intention of the BJP government was to scrap the scheme. "The new law replacing the MGNREGA was just a façade to deceive the poor and the marginalised", he said. He pointed out how the BJP government had changed the system of allocating funds, which were earlier decided in villages and panchayats but would now be decided in Delhi.

Addressing the rally, PCC president Raja Warring asserted that the BJP and AAP were two sides of the same coin. He said while the BJP has scrapped the MGNREGA, AAP had already failed in its implementation. He quoted the example of Ludhiana, where out of 1.21 lakh families covered under MGNREGA, only 12 had got 100 days work.

The PCC president also dismissed the claims of the Opposition that the Congress was divided. He said since the Opposition parties have nothing against the Congress, they are now spreading rumours about factionalism in the party. Warring reiterated that he was himself not in the race for the chief ministership.

“All of us want the Congress to form the government in the state and get rid of those who have held the state to ransom for the last four years”, he added.

Addressing the rally, Leader of the Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa said the MGNREGA was initiated by the Congress in 2005 after consultation with all political parties. He pointed out the Standing Committee of the Parliament, which discussed it threadbare before it was passed in Parliament, was headed by the BJP leader and former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.

Among those present in the rallies included Ravi Dalvi, Suraj Singh Thakur, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Vijay Inder Singla, Rana KP, Pargat Singh, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Vikramjit Singh MLA, Angad Singh, Darshan Lal Mangupur, Luv Kumar Goldy, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Ajay Mangupur, Amarpreet Lally and Satvir Pallijhiki.