Gram Panchayat offices in Karnataka will be named after Gandhi: DK Shivakumar!

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state president DK Shivakumar on Tuesday announced that around 6,000 gram panchayat offices will be named after Mahatma Gandhi. “This is the decision of the Congress party,” he said.

Speaking at the ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo – Mahatma Gandhi MNREGA Bachao Sangharsh’ protest program organized at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said that KPCC vice president VS Ugrappa and other party officials had written to him on the matter and a representation was given to the Chief Minister.

He said, “Through this we will ensure that the name of Mahatma Gandhi remains safe forever. Gandhiji had envisioned that every village should have a school, a cooperative society and a panchayat.”

He said that Congress is fighting for the employment rights of the poor.

He said, “Manmohan Singh’s government under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi had provided employment to the unemployed. The world had taken notice of our employment guarantee scheme. The World Bank had praised the scheme as one of the best schemes in 2013. There are 5,700 panchayats in the state, and about Rs 6,000 crore is spent under the scheme every year.”

He said, “Earlier, panchayats used to decide what development work should be done. People who were hesitant to work as laborers on others’ land were given the opportunity to earn wages by working on their own land.

The scheme was designed by the then Union Minister CP Joshi on the instructions of Sonia Gandhi. The UPA government had taken such a historic decision. “Laborers were paid for building shelter homes, Indira Awas homes, animal sheds and agriculture related work.”

He said that the scheme was implemented as a mass movement.

He said, “The Center used to provide 90 per cent of the funds. For material works like iron and cement, the state government had to contribute 25 per cent. About 7,000 supervisory jobs were created under this scheme. The NDA government has changed the name of Mahatma Gandhi and revamped the Act.

Under the new law, the Center will have to bear 60 percent and the state will have to bear 40 percent of the cost. We are organizing a special session to discuss the issue and will debate it for two days.”

Shivkumar said, “Information was received that BJP leaders are protesting by sitting in front of the Gandhi statue. BJP leaders have lost the right to sit in front of the Gandhi statue. Now you are not fit to keep Gandhiji’s picture in your office.”

He said, “MNREGA is a scheme for the development of villages. BJP is spreading the disease of unemployment across the country. We will never let MNREGA end. We do not want a developed Bharat Gram, we want Gandhi. Even if the police arrest us today, we will not back down. Even if we have to go to jail, we are ready. Our struggle will continue until the MNREGA scheme is restored, just as the central government had to withdraw the agricultural laws.”

Referring to his constituency, Shivakumar said, “In my Kanakapura constituency, development works worth Rs 200 crore are carried out every year with the funds of this scheme. That is why the taluk has achieved the top position in effective implementation.

The Center had ordered an investigation on suspicion that DK Shivakumar had misused funds under the scheme. Later, after seeing our work, he himself gave us the award.”

He said, “Union minister HD Kumaraswamy and BJP leaders should come for discussion, I am ready. It has been 20 years since this scheme was implemented. Your own government has been in power for the last 11 years.

If there was something wrong with the plan then what were you doing all these years? Wherever irregularities were found in our Panchayats, we have taken action. Is it right to change the entire plan if some people make mistakes? Is it right to harm oneself just to teach someone a lesson?”

He alleged that the central government has stopped MNREGA funds. He said, “It is not possible to implement the Centre’s new scheme even in BJP ruled states. NDA ally and CM Chandrababu Naidu himself has objected to it and said that this scheme cannot be implemented.” Chandrababu Naidu has warned that if the BJP-led central government does not withdraw the new law, the government will have to face serious consequences.

Shivkumar said, “The central government is snatching away the rights of farmers, laborers and panchayats. Our fight is against this. In the coming days, a five kilometer padyatra will be organized at the taluka level in every panchayat, in which MNREGA workers will participate. This padyatra will be led by the district in-charge minister, MLA and MLC.”