Congress’s protest on MNREGA is a politics of white lies

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan has strongly criticized the Congress government, calling the protest held on Shimla’s Ridge Maidan regarding MNREGA as completely misleading, factless, and a political drama. Mahajan said that Congress is busy telling the public the lie that MNREGA has been abolished, whereas the truth is that the central government has implemented a much stronger and comprehensive law, “Developed India – Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural).”

Harsh Mahajan asked why Congress doesn’t explain that under the new scheme, rural families are guaranteed 125 days of employment, not 100. A provision of over ₹1.51 lakh crore has been made for this, with the central government contributing over ₹95,000 crore. It has become Congress’s habit to take to the streets whenever any concrete reform is implemented in the interest of the poor, farmers, and rural people.

Mahajan stated that the new system will directly benefit panchayats and accelerate development work. Water conservation, roads, pathways, ponds, drainage, schools, health centers, Anganwadi buildings, and livelihood-related projects will be prioritized in villages. Grading of panchayats will ensure that backward panchayats receive more resources, eliminating regional imbalances.

Attacking the Congress party, he said, “The same party that behaved indecently in Parliament, tearing papers, and climbing on tables to transform democracy into mobocracy, is now pretending to play politics in the name of Mahatma Gandhi. This is evidence of the Congress party’s duplicity and moral bankruptcy.”

Harsh Mahajan said that Congress is also misleading the public regarding the funding pattern. The 60:40 model is in keeping with the spirit of cooperative federalism, in which state government participation enhances monitoring and effectiveness of schemes. However, the Himachal Pradesh Congress government is taking the easy route of blaming the central government to hide its own administrative failures and financial mismanagement.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment is “developed villages for a developed India,” and this new law is a major step in that direction. The Congress protest at the Ridge is a failed attempt to distract attention from the state government’s failures and mislead the public, which the people of Himachal Pradesh have already fully understood.

Former BJP state president and MLA Satpal Singh Satti has called the protest held by the Congress government and Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Shimla’s Ridge Maidan regarding MNREGA a complete lie, a fabrication, and a political gimmick. Satti said that when the Congress party doesn’t know how to govern, it resorts to protests to distort facts and mislead the public.

Satpal Satti said that Congress is spreading the lie that MNREGA is being abolished, whereas the truth is that the central government has gone beyond MNREGA and implemented the “Developed India – Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural)” law, which guarantees rural families 125 days of employment, not 100. A provision of more than ₹1.51 lakh crore has been made for this, with the central government contributing more than ₹95,000 crore.

He asked why the Congress party is afraid to disclose that while the UPA government spent approximately ₹2.13 lakh crore on MNREGA from 2006–07 to 2013–14, the NDA government has created nearly double the employment by spending more than ₹8.53 lakh crore by 2024–25. These figures are enough to expose the Congress party’s lies and failures.

Satti said that if the Congress party truly cared about the villagers, instead of staging a sit-in on the Ridge, it would focus on ensuring timely wage payments, availability of work, and empowerment of panchayats under MNREGA and other schemes in the state. The truth is that the Congress government in Himachal is blaming the central government to hide its failures.

Accusing the Congress of politically misusing the name of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, he said that the party which violates decorum in Parliament, tears papers, climbs on tables and tries to convert democracy into mobocracy, has no moral right to invoke Gandhiji’s ideals.

Satpal Satti said that “Developed Villages for a Developed India” is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge, and under the new scheme, water conservation, roads, schools, health centers, Anganwadi buildings, drainage, and livelihood-related works have been prioritized in villages. Fund allocation based on grading of panchayats, additional payments for delayed wages, and special provisions for vulnerable groups are proof that the central government is serious about empowering rural India.

He said that the Congress’s protest at the Ridge is a failed attempt to distract attention from the state government’s failures, financial mismanagement, and false promises. The people of Himachal Pradesh have now seen through the Congress’s lies and will give a befitting reply when the time comes.