Mamata hits Centre on G RAM G Bill, to rename Bengal job scheme after Mahatma
Mamata Banerjee also vowed to expand workdays under Bengal’s Karmashree scheme to 100, even if Centre withholds funds
In response to the passing of the VB-G RAM G Bill in the Lok Sabha, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (December 18) struck back at the BJP-led government, announcing plans to rename the state’s rural job guarantee programme after Mahatma Gandhi.
Speaking at a business and industry conclave, Mamata, without directly naming the BJP, said that if some political parties "failed to show respect to our national icons, we will do it.”
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Her announcement came after the Lok Sabha passed the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) Bill, which aims to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).
‘We are forgetting Father of the Nation’
Expressing her disappointment over the change, Mamata said at the Dhana Dhanya auditorium, "I feel ashamed that they have decided to remove Mahatma Gandhi's name from the NREGA programme, because I too belong to this country. We are now forgetting even the Father of the Nation."
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She further announced, "We will now rename the Karmashree scheme of our state after Mahatma Gandhi." The Karmashree scheme currently provides up to 75 days of work to beneficiaries.
‘Workdays to increase in Karmshree to 100’
Banerjee added that the state plans to increase the number of workdays under Karmashree to 100 in the future, despite the Centre blocking funds.
"We have already created lots of workdays under Karmashree, which we are running with our own resources. Even if central funds are stopped, we will ensure people get work. We are not beggars," she said.
(With agency inputs)