The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized the Congress-led Karnataka government for holding a special Assembly session without a valid reason, claiming it was a misuse of public funds. The session, which took place from January 22 to February 4, saw the passing of a resolution against the “Viksit Bharat Grameen Rozgar Aajeevika Mission.”
Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, accused the state government of failing to justify the need for the special session. He alleged that the Congress party’s opposition to the renaming of the rural employment scheme was the actual motive behind the session.
Narayanaswamy highlighted that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, now renamed as “Viksit Bharat Grameen Rozgar Aajeevika Mission,” was initially intended to provide 100 days of wage employment to rural residents. However, he claimed that corruption had seeped into the scheme under Congress rule, with funds being misused and fake beneficiary lists being created.
The BJP leader further alleged that the Congress’s objection to the new name was merely due to the inclusion of the word “Ram” in the acronym. He accused the party of opposing anything related to Hindu sentiments and staging protests to appease national-level opposition leaders.
