Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hit out at the Congress, alleging that the party had included the name of Mahatma Gandhi in the  National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 only for electoral gains. Talking to reporters in Bhopal yesterday, Mr Chouhan said, during the Congress government, MGNREGA became synonymous with corruption.

He said the Congress party had repeatedly reduced the MGNREGA budget. He alleged that the opposition has consistently used Mahatma Gandhi’s name for electoral gains. The Minister said, under the Viksit Bharat: G RAM G scheme, it has been decided that decisions will no longer be made in Delhi, but at the village level. He said, Gram Panchayats will sit together and prepare their own development plans. He emphasised that the number of guaranteed workdays has been increased from 100 to 125 days.