Sonia Gandhi, ministers engage in MGNREGA match

The Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed an animated exchange between Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who alleged the Centre had delayed wage payments under Mgnrega and slashed budgetary allocation, and rural development minister Giriraj Singh, who contended that Gandhi's charge was baseless and the government had increased allocation manifold and maximised its utilisation. As Congress MPs backed their leader, I&B minister Anurag Thakur joined Singh in the counterattack.

In her Zero Hour submission, Gandhi began by taking an indirect jibe at PM Modi: "Despite some people in the past mocking Mgnrega", the rural scheme proved to be a great relief during the pandemic. "Still there is regular reduction in budgetary allocation for Mgnrega. This year, the budget for Mgnrega is 35% less than 2020. This comes at a time when unemployment is rising continuously," she said.

Minister Singh countered her: "She is a senior leader of the country. But the issue raised by the honourable member is far from the truth. Budgetary allocation for Mgnrega in 2013-14 was ₹33,000 crore, whereas under Prime Minister Narendra Modi it has reached ₹1.12 lakh crore. No need to show us the mirror," Singh said.