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‘Will rename all panchayat offices after Mahatma Gandhi’ says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Amid protests over rural employment changes, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called for the repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act and reinstatement of MGNREGA.
The state government on Tuesday announced that it would rename all the gram panchayat offices in the state after Mahatma Gandhi, amid the ongoing confrontation with the Centre over changes to the rural employment framework through the implementation of the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajivika Mission (Gramin), VB-G RAM G Act.
Addressing the gathering at Freedom Park before kicking off a protest march till Bengaluru’s Raj Bhavan, chief minister Siddaramaiah made the announcement, amid slogans accusing the Centre of weakening local governance and diluting employment protections through the overhaul of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who was also present at the event, said that the proposal was the result of representations from party functionaries, including state Congress vice-president VS Ugrappa. “Through this, we will ensure that Mahatma Gandhi’s name is preserved permanently. Gandhiji envisioned that every village should have a school, a cooperative society and a panchayat,” he said.
Congress state-in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala was also present at the event.
After they addressed the gathering, they led the march to Lok Bhavan to submit a memorandum to governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, demanding the repeal of the new law and the reinstatement of MGNREGA.
Police halted the march and took the leaders into preventive custody. They later travelled by government bus to the Governor’s residence to submit their petition.
Siddaramaiah portrayed the policy shift as a departure from decentralized planning. “MGNREGA was the right of the people, but not anymore. Around five crore (50 million) people, including people with disabilities, were gaining employment in the rural areas. The Centre now wants to decide what work should be done, whereas earlier the same was done by Panchayats,” he alleged, adding that the authority of local bodies was “severely curtailed.”
The chief minister argued further that panchayats would lose financial support under the new model. Earlier, each panchayat received an allocation of ₹1 crore under the old law, he added.
“Gandhiji said unless villages develop, the nation cannot develop. By scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP has killed Mahatma Gandhi once again,” he added.
Framing the matter in electoral terms, Shivakumar said, “By scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP has invited trouble for itself. People in rural areas will not accept VB-G RAM G, and they will not pardon the BJP for repealing the employment guarantee law.”
Surjewala alleged that the Centre intended to dismantle the employment guarantee system. “This is an assault on the rights of crores of poor, deprived and needy, particularly SC, ST and OBCs, who constitute 85% of MGNREGA workers.”
The opposition BJP and JD(S), who held their own protest event on the premises of the Vidhana Soudha over alleged large-scale corruption within the excise department and the alleged disrespect towards the Governor during the joint assembly session on January 22, did not respond to the comments made by Congress leaders at the protest march.
