Giriraj Singh challenges Rahul Gandhi to debate on MGNREGA

New Delhi, Feb 18 Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh on Saturday challenged senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to a debate on MGNREGA, both in terms of fund allocation and assets creation during the 2004-14 UPA rule and nine years of Narendra Modi government.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event, Giriraj Singh took strong exception to the Facebook post of Rahul Gandhi in Hindi, citing a news report for reducing the MGNREGA budget, saying that the Congress leader should get his facts and figures right before levelling such wild allegations.

Singh asserted that during the 10-year rule of the Congress-led UPA, the BE (Budget Estimate) of MGNREGA never exceeded Rs 33,000 crore and in most fiscals, the funds were surrendered due to poor implementation of the rural job scheme.

"But since May, 2014, when Prime Minister Modi took charge, every year the BE exceeded in RE (Revised Estimate)," Singh said.

The minister pointed out that this year also, the BE of Rs 73,000 crore has already touched the figure of Rs 89,400 crore, as the Rural Development Ministry received Rs 16,000 crore out of Rs 25,000 crore demanded due to accumulation of states' dues.

According to the Rural Development Ministry, in 2019-20, the BE was Rs 60,000 crore and the RE went up to Rs 71,000 crore, while in 2020-21 the BE of Rs 61,500 crore went up to a whopping Rs 1,11,500 crore, a little less than the double of initial allocation, due to reverse migration of rural population from cities to villages in the wake of the Covid pandemic and the increased demand for work.

Similarly, in the financial year 2021-2022, the BE of Rs 73,000 crore touched Rs 99,117 crore in RE.

Singh also challenged Rahul Gandhi to check the assets creation during the UPA rule under the rural job scheme, which he said was merely 17 per cent, while in the last nine years of Modi rule, the assets creation has already crossed 60 per cent.

The minister gave full credit to Narendra Modi for reorienting MGNREGA and its mandate from merely digging and filling holes.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP-led government of reducing the MGNREGA budget and stated that the rural job scheme, which is the foundation of India's rural economy, is becoming a victim of the Centre's 'repressive' policies.

On Rahul Gandhi alleging that the government is misusing Aadhaar against the poor by linking it to the scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Singh said the aim of the Modi government is to bring complete transparency in the implementation of the scheme.

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