Rural employment guarantee scheme: Stalin hits out at Centre, Palaniswami

Chennai, Dec 18 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday accused the BJP-led Union government of undermining the livelihoods of the poor through the proposed changes to the rural employment guarantee scheme, and charged that AIADMK supremo Edappadi K Palaniswami was siding with the Centre on the issue.

In a post on 'X', Stalin alleged that the BJP government was "hitting the stomachs of the poor," while Palaniswami "echoed" its stance instead of standing up for the people.

The chief minister criticised the proposed extension of work under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) project to 125 days, calling it a "deceptive measure" when the existing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) already provides 100 days of guaranteed work.

"In the BJP regime, people got only 20–25 days of employment, and even their wages were released after long delays," he said, adding that work availability has worsened after rule changes made "at the Union government’s behest".

Stalin said Tamil Nadu faced a serious financial loss due to reduced allocation under the scheme and termed the Centre’s directive that states should bear 40 per cent of the cost as "a punishment" for governments already burdened by GST-related revenue loss.

Hitting out at Palaniswami, Stalin alleged that the Opposition leader had issued statements to "please Delhi" instead of raising his voice to protect people’s interests. "After we raised our objections, he merely asked for a name change to be dropped, pretending to exert pressure in his own ‘style,’ while spreading the false notion that MGNREGA’s workdays would increase to 125," he said.

Referring to the alleged reduction of workdays as a "punishment" for Tamil Nadu’s success in poverty alleviation, Stalin said the BJP’s move was similar to reducing the state’s parliamentary constituencies through delimitation for achieving population control goals.

He also charged that Palaniswami was silent on the Centre’s attempt to transfer the financial burden of the rural employment scheme onto the states.

Challenging Palaniswami directly, Stalin said, "If he truly believes what his ‘owner’ BJP does is right, let him openly support the VB-G RAM G scheme." Meanwhile, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, condemning the Centre for distorting the objectives of the original scheme that was named after Mahatma Gandhi, said a protest demonstration will be held on December 24 at 10 am across Tamil Nadu.

"The protest will be led by the Secular Progressive Alliance formed by the DMK," Vaiko said. PTI JR JR KH