Chennai, 13 December (H.S.): The AITUC-affiliated Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Labourers' Association has voiced strong opposition to the Union government's decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling the move an expression of deep-seated hatred toward Mahatma Gandhi.

In a statement released on Saturday, the association's general secretary, A. Bhaskar, rejected the Union government's decision to remove Mahatma Gandhi from the scheme's name and rename it as the Poojya Babu Gramin Rozgar Yojana. Bhaskar recalled that the MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, has for nearly two decades guaranteed 100 days of employment annually for agricultural labourers and rural worker families.

Bhaskar alleged that organizations such as the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha have historically refused to accept Gandhi, the Father of the Nation who stood for secularism and non-violence. He further claimed that the attempt to rename the law is a continuation of the Sangh Parivar’s effort to distort history and glorify figures like Savarkar and Nathuram Godse. The association also accused the BJP-led Union government of systematically weakening the implementation of the scheme since coming to power.

Condemning the move as a venomous attack on Gandhi's legacy, the association demanded that the Union government immediately withdraw its decision to rename the Act. Additionally, the union urged the Centre to increase the guaranteed employment under the scheme to 200 days a year and fix the minimum daily wage at ₹700.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary