Modi govt bulldozed MGNREGA, says Sonia Gandhi, vows fight against new 'black law'
New Delhi (PTI): Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday accused the Modi government of bulldozing the MGNREGA, and asserted that the "black law" that seeks to repeal it will be defied by the lakhs of party workers across the country.
In a video message, she said that by weakening MGNREGA, the Modi government had attacked the interests of crores of farmers, labourers, and landless across the country.
She alleged that over the past 11 years, the Centre had ignored the interests of the rural poor.
Addressing the rural population, Gandhi said she vividly remembers the day 20 years ago, when Manmohan Singh was prime minister, and the MGNREGA Act was passed in Parliament by consensus.
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The former party president said it was "such a revolutionary step," and became a means of livelihood for the deprived, the exploited, and the poorest of the poor.
She said, due to MGNREGA, migration in search of work came to a halt, a legal right to employment was provided, and gram panchayats were empowered.
"Through MGNREGA, a concrete step was taken towards realising the dream of an India based on Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj," she said.
"But it is a matter of great regret that just recently, the government ran a bulldozer over MGNREGA. Not only was Mahatma Gandhi's name removed, but the form and structure of MGNREGA was changed arbitrarily without any deliberation, without consulting anyone, without taking the opposition into confidence," the Congress leader alleged.
She said under the new law, who gets how much employment, where and in what manner, will be decided by the government in Delhi, which is far removed from the ground realities.
Claiming that the Congress had a major role in bringing and implementing MGNREGA, she said it was never a party-specific matter.
"It was a scheme connected to the national interest and the people's interest. By weakening this law, the Modi government has attacked the interests of crores of farmers, labourers, and landless poor in the rural sector across the country.
"We are all ready to counter this attack. Twenty years ago, I too fought to secure the right to employment for our poor brothers and sisters; today, I remain committed to fighting against this black law. All Congress leaders like me and lakhs of workers stand with you," Gandhi said in her video statement.
The Congress earlier claimed that it would take its fight against the repeal law to the grassroots.
Parliament on Thursday passed the VB-G RAM G Bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA.
The proposed bill that guarantees 125 days of rural wage employment every year was met with vociferous protests by the Opposition.
Defending the bill, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserted that it was needed to fix shortcomings in the old scheme.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it on Thursday.
The Opposition strongly protested the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the MGNREGA, and said that the government was putting the financial burden on states.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
