Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for once describing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) as a living monument of Congress failure, senior Congress leader and former parliamentarian Sandeep Dixit said here on Monday that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre has conceded the scheme’s importance and utility by not only continuing it but also increasing the amount under its allocation.
The present regime has not only adopted several schemes implemented by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government but also changed the names of many of them and renamed them after BJP or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders, Dixit told reporters here.
He said the Congress welcomed the Centre’s decision to commemorate the completion of 10 years of MNREGA and to allocate more funds under the scheme thereby indicating that the scheme is worth. He said the Congress is also commemorating the occasion by organising seminars across the country.
Dixit, who was a member of the Standing Committee on Rural Development for NREGA, recalled that Congress President Sonia Gandhi made immense contribution to the Bill's passage by removing the hurdles in the course.
In response to query, he admitted that the UPA Government failed to publicise its welfare-oriented schemes to people in its second term.
Madhya Pradesh Congress President Arun Yadav alleged that massive corruption is taking place under the scheme in the State. Hundreds of complaints were received regarding two job cards being issued in the same name. Besides, complaints have been received over misappropriation of funds.
Replying to a query over the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB)— which has been involved in a massive admission-cum-recruitment scam — uploading erroneous results on its website recently, he said the government has claimed it be a computer-generated error but it is only a reflection of the rampant corruption in the MPPEB.