“What’s the Need for This Unnecessary Expense?”: Priyanka Gandhi Questions Renaming of MNREGA

Delhi: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday strongly criticised the Centre over the reported renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) to Pujya Bapu Grameen Rozgar, questioning both the intent and the financial implications of the move.

Reacting to the decision, Priyanka Gandhi said, “I can’t understand what mentality is behind this. First of all, this is Mahatma Gandhi’s name, and when the name is changed, the government’s resources are spent again on it… This is a big process that also costs money, so what’s the benefit of doing this unnecessarily? I can’t understand.”

The Congress leader emphasised that MNREGA is closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals and has served as a crucial social security scheme for rural India. She argued that renaming such a landmark programme would not only dilute its identity but also divert public funds that could otherwise be used to strengthen employment generation and rural livelihoods.