NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday criticized the Modi authorities after the Union cupboard accepted a invoice to rename the Mahatma Gandhi nationwide rural employment assure act (MGNREGA), questioning why Mahatma Gandhi’s identify wanted to be dropped and accusing the Middle of specializing in rebranding moderately than reform. Reacting to the Cupboard resolution, Congress normal secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh stated the federal government was a “dhurandhar” at renaming schemes and legal guidelines. “They renamed the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and the agricultural LPG distribution program to Ujjwala. They’re consultants in re-packaging and branding,” he advised PTI. Ramesh questioned the rationale behind the transfer, saying, “They hate Pandit Nehru nevertheless it appears additionally they hate Mahatma Gandhi. What’s fallacious with the identify Mahatma Gandhi, why rename the Mahatma Gandhi Nationwide Rural Employment Assure Act to Pujya Bapu Employment Assure Scheme?”PTI citing Sources stated the Cupboard on Friday cleared a Invoice to rename the scheme as ‘Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojna’ and enhance the assured variety of workdays from the present 100 to 125 days.Congress normal secretary in-charge group KC Venugopal stated Prime Minister Narendra Modiwho had earlier described MGNREGA as a “monument of failure”, was now renaming the scheme to assert credit score for it. “It is yet one more means of erasing Mahatma Gandhi from our nationwide psyche, particularly from the villages, the place, he stated, India’s soul resides,” he alleged in a put up on X.Venugopal additionally accused the federal government of neglecting the scheme, saying the renaming was a “beauty change”. “MGNREGA employees have been demanding increased wages, however the Middle has been decreasing allotted funds for the scheme yr after yr,” he stated, alleging that mounting arrears mirrored a “rigorously deliberate technique to engineer a sluggish loss of life for the scheme”.“However Mr Modi, rename all of it you need, the individuals comprehend it was Dr Manmohan Singh ji and Smt Sonia Gandhi ji who introduced this transformative scheme to each village of India,” Venugopal added.Enacted in 2005, MGNREGA is a flagship rural employment program that ensures not less than 100 days of wage employment in a monetary yr to rural households whose grownup members undertake unskilled handbook work.