Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday (December 15) termed the controversy over the Centre’s Viksit Bharat-Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)” Bill as “unfortunate”, stating that the concept of Gram Swaraj and the ideal of Ram Rajya were never competing forces but integral parts of Gandhiji’s consciousness.
Expressing his reservation about removing Gandhiji’s name from the proposed bill, Tharoor stated that the attempt ignores the “profound symbiosis” warning against creating a division where none existed.
Also Read: Opposition slams Govt over dropping Gandhi’s name in rural jobs bill
“The controversy over renaming MGNREGA in the Govt’s proposed new G-RAM-G Bill is unfortunate. The concept of Gram Swaraj and the ideal of Ram Rajya were never competing forces; they were the twin pillars of Gandhiji’s consciousness,” stated Tharoor.
“Replacing the Mahatma’s name in a scheme for the rural poor ignores this profound symbiosis. His final breath was a testament to ‘Ram’; let us not dishonour his legacy by creating a division where none existed,” he added in a post on X. The Congress leader’s remarks come at a time when the Opposition, including his party, has slammed the Centre over the proposed bill aimed at repealing, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).
Opposition slams govt
Tharoor’s comments come at a time when the Congress and several other Opposition parties have stepped up their criticism of the Narendra Modi-led government over the proposed legislation that seeks to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace it with a new rural employment programme aligned with the Centre’s Viksit Bharat @2047 vision.
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According to the government, the proposed framework aims to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of unskilled manual work per rural household each year. The Bill, however, also proposes major changes to the existing funding and administrative structure, including increased cost-sharing by states and the creation of new central and state-level councils to oversee implementation, which has drawn concern from Opposition parties.
Tharoor’s earlier run-ins with Congress
Tharoor’s intervention has also come amid renewed attention on his equations with the Congress leadership. Last week, the Kerala MP skipped a meeting of Congress Lok Sabha members chaired by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Party sources, quoted by ANI, said Tharoor had informed the party in advance about his unavailability.
Also Read: Shashi Tharoor calls post critical of Rahul Gandhi ‘thoughtful and fair’
The absence was the latest in a series of missed party meetings in recent weeks. Tharoor was also not present at a Congress Working Committee-related meeting held on November 30, ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, citing travel commitments from Kerala. He had earlier skipped another meeting on the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls, citing health reasons.
These instances have attracted attention as Tharoor has, during the same period, attended several high-profile events, including a lecture by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a state banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu for visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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