Every senior Punjab Congress leader is a CM face, final call with high command: Bhupesh Baghel

He added, “Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will make the final decision.”

It should be noted that Capt Amarinder Singh was announced as the chief ministerial face in 2012. Similarly, in 2022, Charanjit Singh Channi was declared the CM candidate by Rahul Gandhi during a rally.

‘MGNREGA abolition undermines rural economy’

Baghel was in Bathinda, participating in the final day of the first phase of the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ campaign in Punjab. Sunday marked the fifth day of the party’s mass outreach programme against the BJP government’s decision to replace the MGNREGA. He is expected to take part in the second phase of these rallies later this month.

He stated that the people of Punjab have supported the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Samagam’ with overwhelming participation, including many affected MGNREGA workers.

He criticised the BJP government’s decision to abolish MGNREGA, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is intent on undermining the rural economy. He emphasised that MGNREGA was a “rights-based law” enacted by the Congress government to guarantee 100 days of work for rural labourers. By scrapping MGNREGA, he argued, the Modi government has taken away their constitutional right to work.

He also referred to the provision of a 60:40 ratio, to be shared between the Centre and the states. He said, “There are so many states that are unable to implement central government schemes due to a lack of funds. When they could not provide the ten per cent, as in the case of Punjab, how can they provide 40 per cent?” he asked.

Baghel alleged that by snatching 40 per cent of the grant from the labourers, Prime Minister Modi wants to give it to his select few industrial friends. He said Modi had done the same thing with farmers by bringing in three “black laws”, and now he was doing the same with the labourers.

In response to the BJP’s allegations of a scam in MGNREGA, he challenged, “What has prevented the BJP from taking action over the past 11 years?”

The Congress general secretary expressed serious concern regarding the situation in Punjab, noting that law and order had completely deteriorated in the state. He pointed out that nine murders occurred in Punjab within the first ten days of the new year.

Similarly, he added, the state was on the verge of bankruptcy with debt crossing the Rs four lakh crore mark. He said the AAP government had not added a single school, college, or hospital to the state during the last four years.

He inquired about the funds’ destination, noting that the state was accumulating significant debt while development activities were nonexistent.

“Is this money intended to enrich the leaders in Delhi?” he questioned. Furthermore, he pointed out that the state’s existing health infrastructure had merely been refurbished and renamed ‘Aam Aadmi Clinics,’ which had also fallen short.