Rana KP Singh Flays removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from rural employment guarantee scheme
Bahadurjeet Singh/royalpatiala.in News/ Rupnagar, December 23,2025
Former Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and senior Congress leader Rana KP Singh has strongly condemned the Central Government’s decision to remove the name of Mahatma Gandhi from rural employment guarantee scheme by bringing new law in place of MGNREGA and said that the Central Government wants to gradually remove the name of father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi from India under a well-thought-out conspiracy, which is an alarm bell for the country. He said that the Central Government should reconsider to maintain its original form.
Addressing a press conference here today, Rana KP Singh said that in 2005 due to foresight of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi,the central government had launched a MGNREGA scheme in the name of Mahatma Gandhi for rural people and agricultural laborers, through which a way was found to provide work to the needy rural people for 100 days in a year and earn a living. This scheme was running very successfully in the country till now and its funds were released by the Center due to which there was no financial burden on the state governments.
Rana KP Singh said that under a very deep rooted political conspiracy, an attempt has been made to remove the name of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi from this scheme and add the name of Lord Rama so that political benefit of the name of Lord Rama can be taken.
He said that in this country there is freedom of all religions but it is not right to take the political mileage in the name of the Lord. Rama who is the faith of one community. He said that he himself is a devotee of Lord Rama and the name of Lord Rama is taken with great reverence in the country.
By linking the name of Lord Rama with this scheme, the Central Government has started a new controversy. He said that the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had dedicated his entire life for the Dalits, laborers, and the downtrodden people of the society, due to which the Congress government had linked its name with the scheme,which no one had any objection but now the government has not only changed the name but has implemented many new laws in which it has said to provide employment for 125 days instead of 100 days, whereas the government has already failed to provide full employment for 100 days. This is not all, earlier the Central Government used to provide all the funding but now the states will have to provide 40 percent of the money from their own sources which is wrong.
The state governments are already facing financial crisis and the central government’s contribution of forty percent means that the central government wants to gradually end this scheme which provide employment in the rural areas of the country. He said that this will increase unemployment and many other types of losses will come to the fore in the coming time.
He also said that the central government has passed this bill in a hurry while the Congress government had passed it after full debate and consultation in the Parliament in which leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party were also involved.
On this occasion, Vishwapal Singh Rana, Congress district president Ashwani Sharma, former president Sukhwinder Singh Whisky councilor Pomi Soni among Rajeshwar Lali and others were present.
