PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The in-charge of Uttarakhand Congress, Kumar Selja has said that the party will undertake a mass contact programme in the rural areas of the State against the Union government’s decision to scrap Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Addressing a press conference after holding a meeting of the political affairs committee of the State Congress, Selja said that the Narendra Modi government wants to destroy the very spirit of MGNREGS. “ It’s not just a matter of changing the name; it’s about eliminating rights. MGNREGS was a legal right to demand-based employment, under which the government was obligated to provide work. The new law makes it a supply-based scheme, where the availability of work will depend on the budget and parameters set by the central government,’’ she said.
The Congress leader claimed that the new parameters will eliminate the authority of the village Panchayat, eliminating the decentralisation of power. She said that the new scheme will impose a significant financial burden on states, discouraging them from providing work. “Previously, it was an employment guarantee scheme, now it’s a guarantee against unemployment,’’ she said.
Selja said that the Congress party will not remain a mute spectator on the attempts to kill the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and his idea of rural empowerment. Outlining the plans of the party, she said that district-wise press conferences will be held across the State on January 10 followed by Dharnas at the statues of Gandhi ji on January 11. From January 12- 29, Panchayat-level Chaupals will be organised in a phased manner, she added.
Many questions in Ankita Bhandari murder case still unanswered: Selja
DEHRADUN: Kumar Selja said that the entire country is shocked and outraged by the new revelations in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. She said that the Congress party will not rest till a Supreme Court monitored CBI inquiry is announced in the case. She said that many questions in the case such as identity of the VIP, role of the local BJP MLA and the deliberate demolition of the Vanatra resort and the destruction of the evidences in the Ankita Bhandari murder case are still unanswered and the people of the State want that all the culprits in the heinous crime are booked.
