Gram Panchayat offices to be named after Mahatma Gandhi: D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru

Amid an escalating political confrontation over the alleged dilution and discontinuation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D K Shivakumar on Tuesday announced that the Congress government has decided to name all gram panchayat offices in Karnataka after Mahatma Gandhi.

The move, he said, is aimed at preserving Gandhiji’s legacy and underlining the Congress party’s commitment to rural employment and decentralised governance.

Shivakumar made the announcement after participating in the “Raj Bhavan Chalo” protest march organised by the Congress against the Centre’s decision to overhaul the MGNREGA framework. He said around 6,000 gram panchayat offices across the state would be renamed after Mahatma Gandhi, subject to formal approval by the Chief Minister.

According to the Deputy Chief Minister, the proposal originated from KPCC Vice President Ugrappa and other party office bearers, who urged the leadership to institutionalise Gandhiji’s ideals at the grassroots. “We have written to the Chief Minister requesting this. By naming gram panchayat offices after Mahatma Gandhi, his legacy will be made permanent. Gandhiji believed that every village must have a school, a cooperative society and a panchayat. This decision reflects that vision,” Shivakumar said.

Strong defence of MGNREGA

Launching a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government at the Centre, Shivakumar said the Congress was fighting for the “employment rights of the poor” and would continue its agitation until MGNREGA is reinstated in its original form.

He recalled that the rural employment guarantee programme was introduced during the Congress-led UPA regime under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “It was the Congress that ensured employment for rural families. In 2013, even the World Bank praised MGNREGA as a landmark social security initiative,” he said.

Providing figures to underline the scheme’s scale, Shivakumar said nearly ₹6,000 crore was being spent annually under MGNREGA across about 5,700 gram panchayats in Karnataka. The programme, he noted, empowered panchayats to decide the nature of works to be taken up, strengthening local self-governance.

Impact on farmers and rural economy

Shivakumar highlighted that MGNREGA had enabled farmers to undertake work on their own lands while earning wages, thereby supporting both livelihoods and agricultural productivity. He said the scheme, conceptualised by former Union Minister C P Joshi under Sonia Gandhi’s guidance, covered a wide range of rural development activities, including Indira Awas housing works, construction of cattle sheds and agriculture-related infrastructure.

He also pointed out that the scheme created employment for nearly 7,000 people in supervisory roles, apart from providing wage employment to lakhs of rural labourers.

Funding pattern and centre-state dispute

The Deputy Chief Minister criticised changes proposed by the Centre to the funding structure of the scheme. Under the earlier framework, he said, the Centre funded 90 per cent of MGNREGA expenditure, with the state contributing the remaining share. For works involving steel and cement, the state bore about 25 per cent of the cost.

“The new model expects states to pay 40 per cent of the expenditure. This is not feasible,” Shivakumar said, adding that even BJP-ruled states were struggling to implement the revised scheme. He announced that the Karnataka government would convene a special session to discuss the issue and challenge the Centre’s approach.

Sharp attack on BJP over Gandhi legacy

In a scathing political statement, Shivakumar accused the BJP of undermining Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy. “I heard that BJP leaders are protesting in front of the Gandhi statue. They have lost the right to sit before Gandhiji’s statue and even to hang his photograph in their offices,” he said.

Drawing a controversial parallel, he alleged, “Nathuram Godse killed Gandhiji, and now the BJP and NDA are killing his legacy. You cannot erase Mahatma Gandhi from history.”

Open challenge to Kumaraswamy and BJP

Shivakumar also threw an open challenge to Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy and BJP leaders to debate the future of MGNREGA. “Let them come for a public debate; I am ready. It has been 20 years since MGNREGA was introduced, and the BJP has been in power for 11 of those years. If there were irregularities, what were they doing all this time?” he asked.

He argued that isolated cases of corruption could not justify scrapping an entire welfare scheme that supports millions of rural households. “It is wrong to dismantle the whole programme because of a few irregularities,” he said.

Centre yet to clear dues

Shivakumar further alleged that the Centre had failed to release pending MGNREGA dues, worsening the crisis. He noted that NDA ally and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had also raised concerns over the new framework. “Even Chandrababu Naidu has sent warning signals. If the BJP does not withdraw the new scheme, it will land itself in serious trouble,” he warned.

Reiterating the Congress party’s stand, Shivakumar said the agitation would continue until the Centre restores MGNREGA in its original spirit, asserting that the scheme remains a lifeline for rural India and a cornerstone of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of inclusive development.