New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday termed the controversy surrounding the proposed renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as "unfortunate", cautioning against creating a false ideological divide and undermining the Father of the Nation's legacy.
Reacting to the Centre’s move to introduce a new rural employment law, Tharoor said the principles being invoked were never in conflict.
"The controversy over renaming MGNREGA in the government’s proposed new G-RAM-G Bill is unfortunate. The concept of Gram Swaraj and the ideal of Ram Rajya were never competing forces; they were the twin pillars of Gandhiji’s consciousness," he said in a post on X.
"Replacing the Mahatma’s name in a scheme for the rural poor ignores this profound symbiosis. His final breath was a testament to ‘Ram’; let us not dishonour his legacy by creating a division where none existed," Tharoor added.
The remarks come as the Centre prepares to introduce the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, called G-RAM-G in short.
The proposed legislation seeks to replace the nearly two-decade-old MGNREGA and significantly restructure India’s rural employment framework.
The Congress has strongly criticized any move to rechristen MGNREGA, accusing the government of attempting to dilute Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy. Party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the rationale behind a renaming exercise, warning it would lead to avoidable public expenditure.
"From offices to stationery, everything has to be renamed. This is a big and costly process. What is the benefit of doing this unnecessarily?" she asked.(IANS)
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