Chandigarh, Jan 7 (IANS) To make people aware of the alleged misinformation being spread by Opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, regarding the Viksit Bharat G RAM G Scheme, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday launched a statewide public awareness campaign from Kheowali Dhaba village in Fazilka district of Punjab.
State BJP President Sunil Jakhar said that under the new scheme it has been ensured that the money meant for poor labourers reaches them directly, and the number of employment days has been increased from 100 to 125 days.
He said that the new law has tightened the noose around those who used corruption to deprive the poor of their rightful dues, which is why the AAP, the Congress and other Opposition parties are opposing it.
Calling the rural employment scheme a major initiative of the Government of India in the interest of the poor, the BJP state president said, “Now the poor’s money will not go into the pockets of contractors and leaders, but will be credited directly into the labourer’s bank account.”
He said that corruption has been eliminated from the scheme, which is why those who benefitted through corrupt practices under the previous Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme are protesting, as their illegal income is now coming to an end.
Jakhar further said that more than 6,500 cases of corruption under MGNREGA have come to light in Punjab, yet Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken no action against even a single corrupt person who looted the rights of the poor.
Continuing his sharp attack on Chief Minister Mann, BJP chief Jakhar said that this year the state government provided only 26 days of employment under the old scheme, which it is now defending.
He questioned the Chief Minister, asking that if the old scheme was so effective, why 100 days of employment were not provided to labourers.
He said that in reality the earlier scheme fixed no accountability, whereas under the new law responsibility will be clearly defined, which is why the state government is lamenting and opposing it.
Reminding Chief Minister Mann of the Assembly elections slated in early 2027, Jakhar said that the Delhi leaders to whom he has mortgaged the state government will eventually leave, but he alone will have to face the anger and curses of the people of Punjab.
He said there is still time for the Chief Minister to take stock of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and work in public interest.
He added that the government’s much-publicised “war against drugs” has been reduced to a mere public relations exercise, with neither drugs nor gangsterism being effectively curbed on the ground.
Later, Jakhar visited a site adjacent to the residence of the Deputy Commissioner of Fazilka, where crores of rupees were allegedly embezzled in the name of the MGNREGA scheme to create a so-called lake.
He pointed out that no lake exists at the site, even though payments have already been made from the government treasury for the project.
--IANS
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