G RAM G: BJP accuses Omar Abdullah of mocking faith

SRINAGAR: Two days after J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said the name of the new rural employment guarantee scheme, G RAM G, reminded him of Bollywood film ‘Ji Mummy Ji’, BJP on Monday accused him of ridiculing people’s faith.

At a press briefing, BJP spokesperson Abhijeet Jasrotia said the CM should have refrained from commenting on the name. Describing it as a matter of faith, Jasrotia said, “The chief minister should not make jokes about the name. We strongly object to this and will not tolerate it.” Omar held a constitutional post and must exercise restraint while talking on issues linked to faith, he added.




Omar had on Saturday questioned the Centre’s move to replace MGNREGA with Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, and had also expressed surprise over the nomenclature. “First of all, I am surprised where this name came from,” he said. “Who names a bill as G RAM G?” He also criticised the dropping of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the employment scheme.

Jasrotia said Omar’s family has had longstanding associations with religious and cultural traditions linked to Lord Ram, and it was unfortunate the CM had forgotten these. His father Farooq Abdullah publicly sang bhajans dedicated to Lord Ram, and the chief minister should respect such tradition in his own family, the spokesperson added.

Defending the re-naming, BJP said welfare schemes ensuring dignity of labour and livelihood security were in keeping with Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. “Gandhiji stood for empowering the weakest sections. Any initiative that guarantees work and food security reflects that vision. If in Gandhi’s time the scheme would be renamed as such, he would have been happy about it,” Jasrotia said.
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