When the government changed the name of MNREGA to ‘Developed India – Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission’ (VB-G Ramji), the opposition felt that they had found a big issue. Rahul Gandhi shouted from every platform that this is an insult to Gandhi, this is a conspiracy to erase history.
He did not even take the name ‘Ji Ram Ji’ out of irritation. By launching ‘Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Yojana’ in the budget, the government deflated the balloon of the opposition, which the Congress was inflating with great effort.
When the government gave MNREGA the name ‘Ji Ram Ji’, the reason behind it was not just changing the name of a scheme. This was a direct attempt to connect rural India with the cultural heritage of the name Ram. The government’s argument was that the scheme should not be limited to just ‘work’ but should be linked to the goal of ‘developed India’. But Congress called it an attempt to erase history. Rahul Gandhi said- BJP is marginalizing Gandhi’s name. But by launching ‘Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Yojana’ with a completely new and bigger vision, the government took away the very weapon from the opposition which they were using as a shield. The government gave the message that we are not removing Gandhi’s name, but are presenting it in a new form with Digital India and modern infrastructure.
Government panics at opposition’s request
Rahul Gandhi’s entire narrative was based on the fact that BJP is destroying Gandhi. But the government retaliated in such a way that the opposition kept watching. By bringing ‘Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Yojana’, the government gave the message that for them Gandhi is not just a name but a pledge of ‘Gram Swaraj’. This is a kind of political trap. The government started a new and bigger scheme in the name of Gandhi and also increased the budget of ‘Ji Ram Ji’. This means that the opposition’s allegation that the scheme is being weakened by changing the name also becomes false.
Booster dose of budget and helplessness of opposition
It often happens that when a scheme is re-branded, there is a possibility of a cut in funds. But here the Ganga flowed in reverse. By increasing the budget of ‘Ji Ram Ji’, the government has expressed that this is not just a change of name, but a new intention to revive the rural economy. MNREGA, which Congress considered its biggest weapon, now has to be called by a name that suits the government’s agenda. The government has check-mate Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Gandhian politics’ by bringing another big scheme in his name.
Government changing the narrative
The government has made it clear that it is not just changing the name, but is changing the narrative. Cultivating the rural vote bank through Ji Ram Ji and ending the opposition’s claim in the name of Gandhi through ‘Gram Swaraj’. This is the masterstroke of Modi government which has already laid the electoral chessboard for 2029. The opposition is still entangled in the name issue, while the government has cemented its place in the minds of rural voters with the cocktail of ‘work and name’. Now it remains to be seen what new Rahul Gandhi brings in this fight of ‘Gandhi vs Gandhi’ and ‘Ram vs Kaam’.