MGNREGA renaming: Abhishek calls move ‘anti-Bengal’, accuses BJP of erasing Tagore-Gandhi legacy

Kolkata Dec 17 (PTI) Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday criticised the Centre's decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling it an "anti-Bengal" move and accusing the BJP of systematically erasing the state's cultural and historical legacy.

Reacting to the Union Cabinet's approval of a Bill to rename MGNREGA as Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), the TMC national general secretary said the removal of the word 'Mahatma' amounted to an insult to Mahatma Gandhi and Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore.

"'Mahatma' is not just a word; it is a title given by Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore to Gandhi ji. By removing it, the BJP has shown its deep-rooted hostility towards Bengal's contribution to India's freedom struggle and moral heritage," Banerjee, who is also the TMC Lok Sabha leader, said.

He alleged that the renaming was part of a broader pattern of discrimination against West Bengal, citing the prolonged withholding of MGNREGA funds, delay in releasing Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana money, and what it described as repeated attempts to malign the state.

"From stopping MGNREGA funds, blocking Awas Yojana money, maligning Bengal over Sandeshkhali, denying Bengal's existence, to BJP chief ministers claiming that those who speak Bengali will be sent to detention camps or jailed -- this is a sustained campaign against Bengal," the TMC MP said.

He also accused the BJP of insulting Bengal's language and revolutionaries, alleging that some BJP leaders had even questioned whether Bengali was a language.

"That is why we call them anti-Bengal," he said.

The TMC leader further claimed that the Centre's alleged withholding of funds has had a direct economic impact on the state, depriving around 2.65 lakh job card holders of employment and wages under the rural employment scheme.

The Union Cabinet last week approved the Bill not only to rename the flagship rural employment scheme but also to increase the guaranteed number of workdays from the existing 100 to 125.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have questioned the need to rename MGNREGA, asking "what was wrong with the name Mahatma Gandhi" that necessitated the change. They accused the BJP-led government of being a "master" at renaming schemes and laws while avoiding substantive accountability.

Hitting back at the Congress following its criticism of the renaming of MGNREGA, the BJP had said the opposition party and its leaders cannot understand the decision as they function with a sense of entitlement. PTI PNT NN