Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 27 : BJP National Spokesperson CR Kesavan took a swipe at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday, saying that the "Insecure Nehru Congress" called its first meeting after losing the Bihar election.
Speaking to ANI, the BJP spokesperson questioned whether the CWC would own its mistakes and blame Rahul Gandhi for the defeat, or attempt to whitewash his failures in the meeting.
"... The insecure Nehru Congress has called its first meeting after losing the Bihar election. Will the CWC dare to own its mistakes and blame Rahul Gandhi for the defeat, or for their failed vote-stealing campaign? Or will they attempt to whitewash Rahul Gandhi's failures...," said Kesavan.
Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge today chaired the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Headquarters at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi.
Several Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, attended the meeting.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Congress Senior Leader Harish Rawat, Former External Affairs Minister Salman Khursid, MP Rajeev Shukla, and MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi were also present at the meeting.
Notably, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah was also present at the meeting amid speculation about a leadership change in the state, with Deputy CM DK Shivakumar adamant about fulfilling the 2.5-year leadership change agreement reportedly made after the 2023 Assembly election.
During the meeting, the Congress Party President called on party members to "formulate a concrete plan" for a nationwide movement against the Centre's decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgaar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM-G) 2025.
In his opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Kharge said that "scrapping" of MGNREGA is an "insult" to Mahatma Gandhi and "a kick" in the stomach of poor people.
"In the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament, the Modi government has scrapped MGNREGA, leaving millions of poor and vulnerable people without support. In addition to kicking the poor in the stomach, the Modi government has stabbed them in the back. Scrapping MGNREGA is an insult to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi," he said.
The Parliament passed the VB-G RAM G Bill on December 18, and it received the President's assent on December 21.
The law guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work. As per Section 22 of the law, the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States, and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), it will be 90:10.
Section 6 of the law allows the state governments to notify in advance, a period aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting.