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Journalism of Courage
The Congress,apparently,can let no good thing go untouched by sycophancy. So it is with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. It was UPA-Is bit achievement; but it was conceived with the UPAs then-allies on board,and took on,in the last term,a non-partisan flavour encouraged by the fact that the energetic and effective rural development minister,Raghuvansh Prasad Singh,was not from the Congress but the RJD. But that hasnt survived C.P. Joshi,a Congressman from Rajasthan,getting the portfolio.
The Congress has been concerned that centrally-funded schemes,like the NREGS and the National Rural Health Mission,might not bring them sufficient dividends electorally if they are associated with a non-Congress state government thats implementing them effectively. That calls for hard grassroots political work. What it does not call for is politicisation of the entire scheme. But Joshi has chosen the latter,putting at risk the broad non-partisan support the NREGS has deservedly enjoyed. Consider this: the NREGS had had implementation problems; so,very properly,the minister convened an all-party meeting to get ideas in,late last month. But the real decision-making had already taken place at a meeting a few days earlier on Rajiv Gandhis birthday,presided over by Rahul Gandhi,with only Congressman in attendance.
