The government led by Narendra Modi is systematically dismantling India’s rural economy,
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil said in the Upper House. Speaking on Grameen Vikas
(rural development) Gohil said it was tragic that while Gandhi believed the soul of India lived in its
villages, the present government appeared determined to suffocate that very soul. Even today, 68 per
cent of India’s population is rural, Gohil stressed.
Contrasting the present approach with earlier policies, Gohil recalled the contribution of his
Congress government in strengthening rural livelihoods. During the tenure of PM Dr Manmohan
Singh, with Sonia Gandhi as UPA chairperson, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MNREGA) was introduced precisely to consolidate rural incomes and prevent
distress migration. “Go to the villages and see how it transformed rural landscapes,” he said. “Now,
those bearing the ideology of those who killed Mahatma Gandhi want to destroy our rural
economy,” he roared.
Gohil began by attacking what he called the government’s quiet strangulation of MNREGA. He
revealed that the allocation for MNREGA in 2025–26 was ₹86,000 crore, but the 2026–27 budget
reduced it to ₹30,000 crore, a staggering ₹56,000 crore cut. According to him, the Centre has
slashed the budget allocation and was feebly attempting to claim that the burden has been shifted to
State governments. “This is weird. Even in a State like Gujarat, the state government is struggling
with debt and overdrafts”, he said, The BJP, he said, had even inserted Lord Ram’s name into the
MNREGA scheme originally conceived by the Congress. “You invoke Ram’s name loudly,” Gohil
said, “but when it comes to rural workers, you have slashed their lifeline.” He added that he too
chants Lord Ram’s name—but for Moksh, not for votes. In Gujarat, he pointed out, it is a ritual
during funeral processions to chant “Ram bolo bhai Ram.” The BJP government, he said, had done
precisely that—turning MNREGA into “Ram bolo bhai Ram,” reducing a lifeline for the poor into a
symbolic obituary.
He then informed the House about alleged irregularities in MNREGA works in Pipero village of
Danpur block in Dahod district, citing official work orders. According to Gohil, a lake was
constructed on survey number 115, which he said is private land owned by former Gujarat BJP
minister Bachhubhai Khabad. Within a few months, a lake, plantation work, land levelling, and even a
canal project was carried out on the same land under MNREGA. An FIR has already been filed in
Dahod and the CBI is investigating the matter. When a BJP MP attempted to stop him, Gohil lashed
back, saying that because a State BJP minister was involved, attempts were being made to label the
matter sub judice so it could not be discussed in the House. Asserting that this argument was
baseless, Gohil said tender procedures for material supply were allegedly bypassed, adding that
when a minister is involved, the government attempts to hide behind technicalities.
Gohil argued that such cases illustrate how rural development funds are misused while genuine
rural needs remain neglected. He cited observations of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
that under the National Social Assistance Programme, benefits had been extended to ineligible
beneficiaries while many deserving citizens were left out. The absence of proper social audits, he
said, allowed public money to be misdirected.
He also accused the government of repeatedly announcing large rural allocations only to quietly
slash them later through revised estimates. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission – National Rural Drinking
Water Plan, the budget estimate of ₹66,000 crore was reduced to ₹17,000 crore. Rashtriya Gram
Swaraj Abhiyan was cut from ₹1,064 crore to ₹850 crore. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana dropped
from ₹54,832 crore to ₹32,000 crore. The Programme for Development of Scheduled Tribes was
reduced from ₹5,082 crore to ₹1,580 crore, while Mission Vatsalya saw a cut of ₹600 crore.
According to Gohil, these reductions translate directly into worsening social indicators. He warned
that farmland is rapidly disappearing as corporations expand land holdings. If villages weaken, he
said, the country itself will weaken, because no industrialist can replace the farmer who grows the
grain that feeds the nation.
In Gujarat, he pointed out, 68 per cent of pregnant women are anemic—the highest in India—
and nearly 60 per cent of teenagers are anemic, a crisis largely concentrated in rural areas that the
government continues to ignore.
Gohil further shocked the House by alleging that while the Modi-led government was slashing
budget allocations in rural schemes, it was simultaneously doling out land and favours to corporate
friends. Gohil said the government appeared determined to hand over vast
stretches of agricultural land, grazing land, and village commons for industrial projects to PM Modi’s industrialist friend. When such land moves out of community control, he warned, the rural ecosystem
collapses—farmers lose productive land, pastoral communities lose grazing areas, and village
economies built on agriculture and dairying begin to crumble.
Gohil also mocked BJP government’s claims that cooking gas is now easily available in rural
India. “If the situation is so good,” he asked sarcastically, “will villagers now cook their chapatis
with gas drawn from gutters and drains?” It may be recalled that Prime Minister Modi had once
claimed that in his youth he made tea using gas derived from local gutters in Gujarat.
Paying tribute to farmers from states such as Haryana and Punjab who had lost their lives,
protesting against draconian farm laws, Gohil said their struggle forced the government to repeal the
legislation. He concluded with a warning that power is temporary, but the damage caused by
undermining rural India could last for generations. Invoking mythology, Gohil told Union
Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to be a good “mama” (uncle)—and not become Kans,
the cruel maternal uncle of Lord Krishna remembered for injustice and tyranny.
Also Read: Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil Demands Direct Train From Bhavnagar To Delhi https://www.vibesofindia.com/congress-mp-shaktisinh-gohil-demands-direct-train-from-bhavnagar-to-delhi/
