Gujarat government objects to Vilasrao's statements on MGNREGA

The state government on Monday took strong objection to Union rural development minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s statement about irregularities in implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the state.State government spokespersons Jaynarayan Vyas and Saurabh Patel described Deshmukh’s allegations as baseless.“Gujarat’s record in implementation of projects for the rural poor is impeccable. It has been lauded by the Planning Commission and experts,” they said. Reacting to Deshmukh’s warning to cut Union government funding in case of continued irregularities, the spokespersons said, “In a federal system, the state government has the right to have its share from the central government exchequer for the good of its people. The money is not anybody’s inheritance and cannot be used or allocated in a whimsical manner.”Referring to the minister’s charge that meeting of the monitoring committee had not been convened, they said, “The central government has to give suggestions on names of the committee members in case of its reformation. But, it has not furnished any names.”Alleging that there was a political motive behind accusing the state government, the spokespersons said that the Centre should shun Gujarat-bashing and instead take a cue from the state’s success in various fields.