Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Wednesday strongly criticised the principal opposition AIADMK for its silence on the Narendra Modi-led Union government’s decision to rechristen the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) as VBGRAMG and for what he termed the Centre’s abdication of financial responsibility for the rural employment programme.In a post on his ‘X’ handle, Stalin questioned whether the AIADMK was supporting the move out of “total subservience” to the BJP. He demanded that AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) clearly spell out his party’s stand on the issue.
“Habitually betraying farmers despite sporting a green towel, is he not aware of this? What is the stand of the opposition AIADMK on #VBGRAMG, which is a severe blow to the rural poor?” Stalin asked. He further wondered whether EPS would support this “retrograde step” to please Union Home Minister Amit Shah, as the AIADMK had earlier supported the three farm laws and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), both of which were opposed by the DMK.
The Chief Minister also took exception to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme. “Erasing the name of Gandhiji from MGNREGS, they have rechristened it with a tongue-twister in Hindi. Why such hesitation to oppose it while having the name of Anna, who vanquished Hindi imposition, in your party?” he said.
Stalin pointed out that under the revised framework, the scheme had effectively come under the Union government’s control, even as States were expected to shoulder the financial burden. “Does the AIADMK accept this? Would your late leader Jayalalithaa have acquiesced to it?” he asked.
He further alleged that Tamil Nadu, which had successfully reduced poverty, was being “punished” through measures that could ultimately endanger the scheme itself. Questioning the AIADMK’s position, Stalin asked how EPS, as Leader of the Opposition, could support such a move.
“When you bend to this level, why retain the name of Anna in your party — Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam?” the Chief Minister asked, sharpening his attack on the opposition party’s ideological stance.