Telangana Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Seethakka today said that the people must protect the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the country.
She said that Telangana would lead these efforts, and that the State government would start with passing resolutions in villages to safeguard the scheme. These resolutions would oppose any move to change the Act's name, and the State government would forward them to the Centre, she said.
Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan, the minister said that rallies would also be organised on December 27 or 28 to exert pressure on the Centre.
She said that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was introduced by the then Congress government to reduce migration and liberate people from bonded labour. However, the BJP government had weakened the employment guarantee scheme, she claimed.
"By removing Gandhi's name from the Act, the BJP has once again assassinated Gandhi. The BJP is thinking of abolishing the Act altogether and bringing back the system of bonded labour," Seethakka said.
filed in:Telangana, Seethakka, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Protests, Telangana Congress