‘Why silent on MGNREGA scams and farmers’ issues’

Chandigarh: Punjab BJP state vice-president Kewal Singh Dhillon launched a sharp attack on Congress over its silence on issues concerning farmers and workers under MGNREGA during the Congress rally held in Barnala. He alleged that Rahul Gandhi's failure to mention the alleged scams worth thousands of crores under MGNREGA in Punjab, as well as the ongoing agrarian crisis, clearly indicated that Congress was functioning as the ‘B-Team' of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state. He said this while addressing the media in Chandigarh today.Dhillon stated that large-scale irregularities took place under the MGNREGA scheme in Punjab, with allegations of scams involving thousands of crores of rupees. However, during the Barnala rally, Congress neither raised the issue of pending wages of workers nor presented any clear strategy regarding farmers' problems.He added that lakhs of workers in Punjab did not receive the guaranteed 100 days of employment under MGNREGA, adversely affecting the rural economy.Dhillon alleged that both Congress and AAP remained silent on the matter, which proved that the 2 parties worked to provide political advantage to each other. On this occasion, he referred to the Central govt's ‘Viksit Bharat' vision and said that the BJP govt reformed MGNREGA by increasing the employment guarantee for workers from 100 days to 125 days.Speaking about the national economy, Dhillon said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India became the world's 4th-largest economy, and the govt set a target to make the country a leading global economy by 2047. He said the govt envisioned India's economy reaching between 21 to 30 trillion dollars in the coming years.He claimed that foreign trade agreements and investments were strengthening industrial growth in the country, creating new employment opportunities for youth and increasing farmers' income.Kewal Singh Dhillon said that the BJP's objective was to economically empower workers, farmers, and youth in Punjab and across the country, while opposition parties remained limited to political allegations and rhetoric.