Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (December 18, 2025) announced to name the West Bengal government’s employment guarantee scheme Karmashree after Mahatma Gandhi. Mamta Banerjee said that removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the MNREGA scheme is shameful. If the central government cannot give respect to the President, then we will give respect to him.
This statement of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has come after the bill to change the name of MNREGA scheme started during the UPA government to Vikas Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) or VIB-Ji Ram Ji was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday (December 18, 2025). According to PTI report, he made this statement in the Business and Industry Conclave without taking the name of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
What did CM Mamata Banerjee say in the conclave?,
Addressing the Business and Industry Conclave, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “I feel ashamed that the decision has been taken to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the MNREGA scheme, because I am also a citizen of this country. We are now forgetting our Father of the Nation.” He said, “Now we will name our state’s Karmashree Rozgar Yojana after Mahatma Gandhi.”
What is Karmashree Scheme of West Bengal?,
Under the Karmashree scheme in West Bengal, the government claims that work is being provided to the beneficiaries for 75 days, while Banerjee said that the funds received under MNREGA are being withheld by the Central Government. He said that the state government aims to increase the working days under the Karmashree scheme to 100 days.
Banerjee said, “We have already increased the working days from our own resources under the Karmashree scheme. Even if our funding is stopped by the central government, we will ensure that people get work. We are not beggars.”
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