“Bapu humare shradha hai, humare Adarsh hain, prerna hain, humara vishwas hain (Bapu is our reverence, ideal, inspiration and faith,” the Rural Development and Agriculture Minister said.
The Opposition and activists have severely criticised the new legislation for upending the demand-driven framework of the MGNREGA, by removing its universality, centralizing decision-making and increasing the financial burden on state governments.
Attacking the Congress’ “doublespeak” on Gandhi, Chouhan said it has never bothered with the teachings of Bapu.
In 1947, after Independence, Gandhi wanted the Congress to be disbanded, he said. But in order to latch on to power, he claimed, Jawaharlal Nehru did not heed to his advice, and “killed” his principles for the first time.
The Congress “murdered” Gandhi when they agreed to the partition of India, Chouhan alleged, adding that it killed his principles when they gave special status to Kashmir, and when Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency.
While the Opposition has made a “hue and cry” about removing Gandhi’s name from the new scheme, the UPA government had only added his name to the NREGA scheme before the 2009 elections for votes in his name, he claimed.
Moreover, it was the Modi government that actually implemented the scheme after it came to power in 2014, the minister said.
Calling the Congress “hypocritical”, Chouhan said that from 2006-07 to 2013-14, 1660 crore employment days were guaranteed under the scheme. This figure, he said, rose to 3,210 crore employment days under the Modi government. While the UPA spent Rs 2.13 lakh crore under the scheme, it swelled to Rs 8.53 lakh crore in the Modi rule.
During the pandemic in 2020-21 and 2021-22, the Centre sharply increased the budget allocations for MGNREGS to record levels—nearly Rs 1.10 lakh crore and 96,000 crore, respectively, in order to meet huge demand as rural workers returned to villages amidst lockdowns and job losses in cities.
Chouhan added that female employment increased from 48 percent to 56 percent.
Amid loud slogans of ‘We Want MGNREGA’ by the Opposition, Chouhan claimed the scheme had been made one laden with corruption, and therefore, needed overhauling.
“The funds between different states were unequal. It was important to give everyone a fair share,” he said. Under the scheme, while 60 percent was allocated for labour, the remaining 40 percent was left for labour. “Because the money for labour comes entirely from the Centre, most money was spent on labour. Some states spent 26 percent on material, some just 19-20 percent,” he said. “MGNREGA was entirely made corrupt.”
Moreover, the UPA reduced the budget from Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore, he said. In contrast, he said, the Modi government increased it to Rs 1.10 lakh crore. Under the new scheme, Rs 1,51,282 crore was allocated, of which the Centre alone would give Rs 95,000 crore. This, Chouhan said, is not the ultimate figure, as the government will increase the allocation when needed.
As Opposition MPs flung copies of the Bill in air, Chouhan said that the Congress did not remove poverty as stated through Indira’s slogan ‘Garibi Hatao’, but instead removed the poor.
While the Opposition spoke much about the new scheme, it also “unnecessarily dragged” the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) into the discussion, Chouhan said.
“I want to say in this great Parliament that the Sangh believes in character-building (vyakti nirman)… Not for itself, but if there is any organisation that has built an entire apparatus for the sake of the society, it is the RSS,” he claimed.
Mounting a strong defense of Hindutva, Chouhan said, “Dharma ki jai ho, adharma ka naash ho, praaniyon mein sadbhavana ho, Vishwa ka kalyan ho—yeh Hindutva hai (May righteousness triumph and evil be destroyed; may there be goodwill among all beings, may the world prosper—this is Hindutva).”