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by IANS |
Chennai, Dec 13 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Labourers’ Association, affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), has strongly opposed the Union government’s decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), describing the move as an expression of “deep-seated hatred” towards Mahatma Gandhi.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the association’s general secretary, A. Bhaskar, said the decision to drop Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the flagship rural employment scheme amounted to an attempt to undermine both the spirit of the legislation and the legacy of the Father of the Nation.
He recalled that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was enacted in 2005 by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government following sustained interventions by Left parties, to provide livelihood security to rural households.
The Act guarantees 100 days of wage employment every year to agricultural labourers and rural worker families who depend primarily on manual labour for survival.
Bhaskar said the scheme had earned global recognition as a pioneering welfare initiative and had, for nearly two decades, played a crucial role in ensuring employment for millions of rural workers across the country.
He strongly objected to the BJP-led Union government’s decision, taken on December 12, 2025, to rename the scheme as the “Poojya Babu Gramin Rozgar Yojana” by removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name. The association, he said, categorically rejected the move.
Mahatma Gandhi, Bhaskar noted, is revered worldwide as the Father of the Nation and remains a symbol of secularism, non-violence and social harmony.
He alleged that organisations such as the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha had historically opposed Gandhi and refused to accept his ideals.
Recalling that Gandhi respected all religions equally and dedicated his life to national unity, Bhaskar said it was a tragic irony that he was assassinated by extremist forces.
He further accused the Sangh Parivar of glorifying figures such as V.D. Savarkar and Nathuram Godse over the past 11 years, while engaging in what he described as systematic distortion of history.
The decision to rename the rural employment law, he alleged, was part of a broader attempt to erase Gandhi’s legacy from public life.
The association also claimed that since assuming power, the BJP-led Union government had steadily weakened the implementation of MGNREGA and was now attempting to dilute its identity by changing its name.
Condemning what he termed a “venomous attack” on Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, Bhaskar demanded that the Union government immediately withdraw the renaming decision.
He also urged the Centre and the Prime Minister to strengthen the scheme by increasing guaranteed employment to 200 days a year and fixing the minimum daily wage at Rs 700.
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