Mysore/Mysuru: Demanding restoration of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme and strongly opposing the newly introduced Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) — VB-G RAM G — rural employment scheme, which has replaced MGNREGA, the City and District Congress staged an overnight dharna in Town Hall premises in the heart of the city yesterday, that ended at 7 am today.

Addressing the protesters, KPCC Vice-President and former  MP V.S. Ugrappa said, the Congress-headed UPA Government with Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister introduced MGNREGA in 2005 in order to provide employment to the rural masses. “But now, PM Modi-led NDA Government has not only replaced the scheme with VB-G RAM G, but also changed the very nature and character of the scheme itself, which has deprived the rural population of jobs. As per the new Act, it is not the Gram Panchayats which decide on jobs, but the Union Government itself, which is ridiculous,” he maintained.

Accusing PM Modi of not fulfilling the pre-election promises, Ugrappa said, however, the Union Government’s only achievement seems to be changing the names of schemes, programmes and projects of the previous Congress-led UPA Government.

“The new Act aims to rob the Panchayats of their autonomy. The BJP is doing everything to remove Gandhi-Ambedkar ideologies from the minds of the people and instil Mahatma Gandhi assassin Godse’s mindset among the people,” he said while questioning Modi when the ‘Achhe Din’ that he had promised in the run up to elections would come.

MLC Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, in his address, targeted the Centre and said that the VB-G RAM G scheme is going to deprive the rural population of their right to jobs. Asserting that the Modi Government has ignored the poor and the downtrodden, he said that the Congress will always stand for the poor.

He further said, the Centre has allotted only Rs. 95,000 crore for the implementation of VB-G RAM G scheme in the Budget, when actually the scheme needed Rs. 2.35 lakh crore, which exposes the hollow claims of the Centre.

Prior to the start of the dharna, floral tributes were offered to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Square.

District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, MLAs Tanveer Sait, K. Harishgowda, Darshan Dhruvanarayan and D. Ravishankar, MLC Dr. D. Thimmaiah, State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Monitoring Authority Vice-Chairperson Dr. Pushpa Amarnath, City Congress President R. Murthy, District President Dr. B.J. Vijaykumar, former Minister Kote M. Shivanna, former MLAs M.K. Somashekar and G.N. Nanjundaswamy, party leaders Nagesh, AHINDA Javarappa, Eshwar Chakkadi and K. Mahesh were present.