In a sharp political attack, Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Pankaj Chaudhary has claimed that the Congress party is upset about the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the new VB-G RAM G Act 2025 primarily because of the name 'Ram' in it. He framed the new legislation as a "surgical strike" against corruption by the Narendra Modi-led government.
A Political Dig and a New Vision
Addressing a press conference in Varanasi, Chaudhary drew a direct comparison between the naming conventions of the two major parties. "The Congress launched many schemes in the name of members of a single family; hence, they have objections to G-Ramji's name," he stated. He positioned the VB-G Ramji Act 2025 as a transformative move, asserting it represents a decisive blow against the systemic flaws and fund misuse that plagued the previous rural jobs scheme.
Chaudhary credited the Modi government with prioritizing income security for economically weaker families, calling it one of the NDA regime's biggest achievements since 2014. He accused past governments of neglecting basic needs like housing, health, social inclusion, and income security for seventy years, claiming the current administration has fulfilled them with priority.
Addressing MGNREGA's Shortcomings
The BJP leader provided a detailed critique of MGNREGA's implementation. He pointed to poor-quality works, digging and refilling pits, temporary roads, and incomplete water structures as examples that led to significant misuse of government funds. "The budget of the scheme was stopped in many states due to the same irregularities," he noted, adding that issues like unavailability of laborers during peak agricultural seasons were never seriously addressed before.
He explained that the NDA government designed the VB-G RAM G 2025 to establish greater accountability. Key features include provisions to stop work for up to 60 days, considering weather conditions and farming sector needs, to avoid the earlier scheme's pitfalls.
Leveraging Technology to Curb Leakage
To tackle corruption head-on, Chaudhary emphasized that the new act adopts a robust, technology-centric approach. This includes the use of geo-tagging, satellite imaging, mobile apps for real-time tracking, AI-based fraud detection systems, and biometric verification. Furthermore, integrated implementation of schemes is being ensured under the PM Gati Shakti platform to ensure coordinated work on infrastructure like roads, drains, and water drainage, preventing isolated and inefficient projects.
Highlighting the financial commitment, Chaudhary presented figures: From 2006 to 2014, the UPA government spent about Rs 2.12 lakh crore on MGNREGA. In contrast, after 2014, the NDA government has strengthened rural welfare by spending Rs 8.48 lakh crore, which is four times greater.
Electoral Rolls and Political Outreach
Reacting to the deletion of 2.89 crore names from electoral rolls during the Special Revision of Rolls (SIR), the BJP state president termed it a serious issue. He revealed that the party has strategized to deploy its workers at the booth level to check if any eligible voter's name was erroneously deleted, vowing to ensure no legitimate voter is missed.
During his Varanasi visit, Chaudhary also targeted the Samajwadi Party over its recently released ‘PDA panchang’, suggesting the opposition party seemed unsure about what 'PDA' stood for, while the BJP believed in inclusive politics. His itinerary included offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath and Kaal Bhairav temples, meeting veteran leaders like former minister Om Prakash Singh, visiting the National Volleyball Championship at Sampurnanand Stadium, and holding organizational meetings with party office-bearers from the Kashi region before departing for Lucknow.
