Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Sharmila slams Centres move to rename MGNREGA

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) criticised the Centre’s proposal to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

In a post on X, the State Congress leader launched a scathing attack on the Centre for its move and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “an heir to Nathuram Godse.” She said if Godse physically assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, “today Mr. Modi is committing another form of murder by erasing Bapu’s name and wiping out Gandhiji’s ideals, the goals of the freedom struggle, and the principles he taught”.

She said the attempt to remove the Father of the Nation’s name from the employment guarantee scheme was “an act of treason”. “This is an unforgivable betrayal of Mahatma Gandhi by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Renaming the scheme as “VB G RAM–G” (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission-Gramina) is a deliberate conspiracy to insult Gandhiji. The RSS is trying to convert the NREGA scheme into its own ideological programme,” she alleged. 

“The Congress leader wondered why the BJP harboured so much hostility towards freedom fighters and former Prime Ministers of this country. She said the Centre’s attempt should be resisted tooth and nail and the entire nation must oppose Mr. Modi’s actions. State MPs should also raise their voice against the Bill,” she demanded.