Bhopal, Dec 22 (PTI) The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act that replaced MGNREGA is a direct attack on the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and a conspiracy to take away from the poor the constitutional right to work, senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad said on Monday.

The former Madhya Pradesh in-charge and current member of the Congress Working Committee said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was a living example of Gandhiji's concept of Gram Swaraj, dignity of work and decentralised development.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done away with MGNREGA, the world's largest employment guarantee scheme, in the name of reforms. This is a direct attack on the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and a well-planned conspiracy to take away the constitutional right to work from the poorest citizens of the country," he alleged.

The Modi government not only removed the name of Mahatma Gandhi, but also ruthlessly trampled on the rights of more than 12 crore MGNREGA workers, he added.

For the last two decades, the scheme has been the lifeline for crores of rural families and proved to be the most important social safety net during the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

"Since 2014, PM Modi has been against MGNREGA, even calling it a monumental failure of the Congress. In the last 11 years, the Modi government systematically weakened MGNREGA, drastically cut the budget, stopped statutory funds of states, cancelled job cards and excluded about 7 crore workers from the scheme by making Aadhaar-based payment mandatory," he claimed.

"As a result, MGNREGA has averaged only 50-55 days of work in the last five years. MGNREGA was a rights-based guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution, which is now being converted into a conditional, Centrally-controlled scheme. This is not reform, but a process of snatching a constitutional promise from the rural poor," Harisprasad asserted.

While MGNREGA was fully funded by the Centre, the Modi government now wants to burden the states by around Rs 50,000 crore, though the Centre's rules, branding and credit will be retained, which is a betrayal of cooperative federalism, he added.

"Under the new system, the government can stop employment at the scheduled time and workers can be deprived of work for months during the crop season. This is not welfare, but state-controlled labour exploitation. The demand-driven nature of MGNREGA is being abolished and made a Centrally-determined scheme with limited budget, thereby ending the legal right to employment," he alleged.

Hariprasad said the move was an insult to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and a blatant attack on rural India, adding that the last economic security of poor rural households was being targeted when the country is facing "record unemployment".

The Congress party will oppose this anti-people, anti-worker move on the streets as well as in Parliament, Hariprasad said.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill was passed by Parliament in the recently concluded Winter session to replace MGNREGA amid strong protests by the Opposition over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name and the financial burden being put on states.

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday gave her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, which replaces the MGNREGA and has a provision for 125 days of wage employment for rural workers.

Speaking about the National Herald case, Hariprasad said it was "fabricated" by the BJP to defame the Congress and its senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

"The dismissal of the ED (Enforcement Directorate) case by the court is a slap on the face of Modi-Shah's vendetta politics," he said.

A trial court, on December 16, held that cognisance of the ED's complaint in the case was "impermissible in law" as it was not founded on an FIR.

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others to respond to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the trial court order refusing to take cognisance of its chargesheet against them.

"Truth has won and truth will always prevail," Hariprasad said, adding that the Congress will continue the fight to save democracy, Constitution and institutions from the misuse of the BJP. PTI BNS MAS BNM