Bengaluru, Jan 8 (NationPress) Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, on Thursday, challenged the Congress-led Karnataka government to clarify with what moral authority and for what reasons it has initiated protests against the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) Act.

While addressing the press at the state BJP office "Jagannath Bhavan" in Bengaluru, Joshi stated, "There are even 80-year-old labourers. Money has been credited in their names. Old works were presented as new bills -- this practice is widespread. Funds were misappropriated in the name of a Dalit woman entitled to 100 days of work. During Siddaramaiah's first term as Chief Minister, the Karnataka government took no action.

There are numerous instances of such financial misconduct. Don't you desire change and transparency in this? he questioned.

Joshi further criticized Rahul Gandhi, stating, "Rahul Gandhi has no sense. Don't you have any sense, Mr Siddaramaiah?" He claimed that when discussions regarding the VB-G RAM G scheme occurred, Rahul Gandhi was absent from Parliament, asking if he could be deemed a serious politician.

He pointed out that earlier state governments did not contribute a single paisa, leading to a system where arbitrary works were initiated to siphon off Central funds.

Joshi mentioned that actions were taken against officials who failed to meet targets, emphasizing that despite recent direct wage payments, an effective monitoring system was previously lacking.

He asserted that a thorough effort is now being made to introduce a monitoring mechanism, centralize payments, and eliminate confusion.

According to Joshi, the assertion that the Centre has usurped decision-making powers under this scheme is a blatant lie, accusing the Congress of habitual dishonesty. "For the Congress, lies are like a household deity," he remarked.

Joshi referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in Parliament, which alleged that Rs 12 lakh crore worth of corruption occurred during the 10 years of UPA rule, a claim the Congress has never denied.

He accused the Congress of opposing the VB-G RAM G scheme due to its desire to continue corruption, even under this welfare program, and its discomfort with the introduced transparency.

He assured that village panchayats will continue to make decisions under the VB-G RAM G scheme.

Joshi explained that the program is integrated with the Prime Minister's Gati Shakti initiative, which facilitates clear identification of infrastructure development in villages. He added that projects worth Rs 85 lakh crore across various sectors have been approved under Gati Shakti; otherwise, many projects would have remained stalled.

He pointed out that the Congress has called for protests against the VB–G RAM G scheme, stating, "When development planning was undertaken 20 years ago, there was no concept of a developed India or long-term asset creation. The economic condition of the country and its citizens was challenging at that time.

He clarified that the scheme does not revoke the right to work, and the number of guaranteed workdays has increased to 125.

According to the State Bank of India, the VB-G RAM G scheme could provide employment while enhancing basic infrastructure, potentially receiving up to Rs 17,000 crore.

Joshi noted that even during the implementation of MGNREGA under the Congress-led UPA government, the average number of workdays was only about 50 days.

He also mentioned numerous instances of work being executed using JCB machines.

Additionally, Joshi stated that social audits conducted in gram sabhas recorded 10.51 lakh complaints over three years, including non-payment of wages, non-execution of work, and misappropriation of funds.

He questioned what issues the Congress has with mobile tracking and GPS-based monitoring.

Joshi cited cases where payments were made in the names of 80-year-old workers, old works were misrepresented as new bills, and funds were misappropriated in the names of Dalit women entitled to 100 days of work.

He emphasized that during Siddaramaiah's first term as Chief Minister, no action was taken in such cases.

He stressed that thousands of such examples exist, questioning why transparency and reform are being opposed.

Present at the event were Rajya Sabha MP Lehar Singh Siroya, MLA Mahesh Tenginakai, Legislative Council member Bharathi Shetty, and Scheduled Tribe Morcha state party president Bangaru Hanumanthu.