Congress march from Gonikoppa to Ponnampet

Gonikoppal, Feb. 5: Protesting against the central government changing the name of Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) to VB Ji Ram Ji, the district and Ponnampet block Congress organized a 5 km walk from Gonikoppa to the Gandhi statue in Ponnampet and held an open meeting.

The walk was flagged off by A.S. Ponnanna, MLA of Virajpet assembly constituency and legal advisor to the Chief Minister, in front of the Umamaheshwari temple in Gonikoppal. Hundreds of Congress party workers from Virajpet, Napoklu and Madikeri areas, including the Ponnampet block Congress, participated in the walk.

Thousands of Congress party workers joined the walk despite the heat. The walk moved along one side of the road and converged in front of the Gandhi statue in front of the Ponnampet town panchayat.

MLA A.S. Ponnanna, KPCC spokesperson Laxman, former MLC Veena Achaiah, district president Teethira Dharmaja Uthappa, block Congress president Miderira Naveen and other dignitaries garlanded the Gandhi statue.

Struggle until restoration: Ponnanna

Speaking at the open meeting, MLA from Virajpet assembly constituency and legal advisor to the Chief Minister A.S. Ponnanna said that the BJP-led central government has abandoned the NREGA scheme and renamed it ‘Gi Ram Ji’ and is going to keep the poor as poor. The central government has no answers to the questions asked by the Congress party. India cannot be developed solely on the basis of emotions and hatred. The struggle against the central government will continue until the NREGA scheme is restored. States with non-BJP governments, including Karnataka, have expressed opposition to the implementation of the ‘Gi Ram Ji’ scheme implemented by the central government.

The new 45th page brought by the central government Act states that 40% of the state government's grant should be given to the center from the beginning. The works suggested by the central government should be carried out at the gram panchayat level, so can we expect development from this? The central government has implemented such an act to exploit the poor. The scheme brought by the central government will not be allowed to be implemented in the state for any reason. In the coming days, a struggle will be launched at the village level as well. Party workers called on them to take action in this regard.

Name change condemnable: Dharmaja

District Congress President Teethira Dharmaja Uthappa said that a large number of workers from every corner of the district have participated in the call given by the Congress party. It is condemnable that the central government has moved to implement the scheme by changing the name. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)'s Udyog Khatri scheme, which was implemented earlier for the benefit of the poor and very small farmers when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, was helpful to crores of workers in the country. The ambitious project of NREGA was named after Mahatma Gandhiji. Now, the BJP party's central government has abandoned the name of Mahatma Gandhiji and named it after 'Ji Ram Ji', he said.

KPCC spokespersons Laxman, Brijesh, and others spoke at the meeting.

Karnataka State Sports Authority Vice President, former MLC Cheppudi Arun Machaya, KPCC Secretary K.P. Chandrakala, Kokkanda Roop Bhimaiah, B. Shettigeri Gram Panchayat President Kollira Bopanna, Mayamudi Gram Panchayat President Apatira Tatu Monnappa, Gonikoppa Gram Panchayat President President Kullachanda Pramod Ganapathy, Ponnampet Town Panchayat President Annir Harish, Vice President Alira Rashid, prominent figures B.N. Prithvi, Tara Ayyamma, Kalimada Prashanth, District Mahila Congress President Pushpalatha, Virajpet Block Congress President Pattada Ranjipoonachcha, Ponnampet Block Congress President Miderira Naveen, Napoklu Block Congress President Ismail, District Youth Congress President Jammad Somanna, Spokesperson Thennira Maina and others participated. Gonikoppa CPI Shivaraj Mudol, led by Virajpet DySP Mahesh Kumar, had taken appropriate security measures.

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