Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 13 (ANI): Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday criticised the Centre over the replacement of MGNREGA with the VB G-RAM-G scheme and demanded that Mahatma Gandhi's name be restored. The remarks were made during a protest by the Kerala Pradesh Congress over the new act.

Chennithala said the move has hurt poor and marginalised sections who depend on the scheme for their livelihood.

Speaking to ANI in Thiruvananthapuram, Chennithala said, '...Today's government has finished this program (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme). The poor, downrooted and marginalised sections of society have been totally marginalised. The sections of society are now in distress because they are only earning through this. Now, by an act of the Government of India, this program is completely finished.'

'We request that Mahatma Gandhi's name be restored and that the earlier position of this act be restored. That is why we are agitating against this,' he said.

Congress General Secretary and MP KC Venugopal said the new act was an RSS move to destroy the concept of Grama Swarah

'The employment guarantee scheme is the largest employment providing programme the world has ever seen. Through the new amendment, the very right to employment has been taken away. Under the old law, the Centre had to bear 100% of the wage component. As per the new amendment, the Centre will bear only 60%, and the remaining 40% has to be borne by the state. For a small state like Kerala, this will create an additional financial burden. An amount of 2,000 crore will have to be found from the state treasury. This move of the Union government is not just about removing Gandhi's name, but about erasing his ideology. It is an RSS move aimed at destroying the concept of Grama Swaraj,' he said.

The VB G RAM G act guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work.

As per Section 22 of the Act, the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States, and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), it will be 90:10.

The Congress party had announced a nationwide 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' from January 10 to February 25, opposing the VB G RAM G Act.

On Monday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge urged people to protest the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), accusing Prime Minister Modi of depriving farmers and the poor of their rights.

Addressing a gathering in Kalaburagi, Kharge alleged that PM Modi's recent focus on the Somnath Temple is a calculated move to garner votes in the upcoming elections in Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu.

'Modi government is depriving farmers and the poor of their rights. I urge people to prepare for a fight against the central government and protest against the scrapping of MGNREGA. Modi is taking away the right of gram panchayats to prepare local development plans. PM Modi will one day regret his actions. If people don't unite and teach Modi a lesson, he will destroy the country's laws and constitution...Modi remembers Somnath temple only now to win votes in upcoming elections in Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu,' said Kharge. (ANI)