SALAR NEWS

Gandhi’s soul chanted Ram’s name: Bommai

BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai said Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Ram Rajya justified the scheme’s renaming and dismissed Congress criticism as political.

PTI

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Basavaraj Bommai dismissed Congress objections to the scheme renaming, calling them politically motivated (PTI)

Bidar, 23 Dec

Former chief minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday strongly defended the Centre’s decision to rename the employment guarantee scheme as ‘VB G Ram G’, saying there was no contradiction between Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Ram.

“Ram is no different; Mahatma Gandhi is no different. Gandhi’s soul chanted Ram’s name, and he spoke of Ram Rajya as village self-rule. It is this idea that has inspired the naming of the scheme,” Bommai told reporters at the Bidar airport, responding to the Congress’ call for nationwide protests.

Bommai alleged that the Congress had “killed Gandhi ideologically many times”. He claimed the first betrayal was refusing to dissolve the Congress as Gandhi had suggested, followed by the imposition of the Emergency, which he said violated Gandhi’s commitment to democracy and the Constitution.

He accused the Congress of using Gandhi’s name for political gain, claiming that only the Gandhi family benefited from it.

Dismissing Congress criticism as political, Bommai said reforms under the Modi government had strengthened the scheme. He added that annual spending had risen from RS 33,000 crore under the Congress to Rs 1.11 lakh crore now. While the Centre bears the cost of 100 days’ wages, he accused the state government of hesitating to pay wages for the additional 25 days.

Bommai also mocked the Congress “high command”, saying it was split and paralysed by infighting, affecting governance. “Farmers are suffering, compensation is delayed and prices are unfair,” he said.