Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the Centre’s decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), comparing the new title to the name of a Bollywood film.
Mocking the new acronym “G RAM G”, Abdullah said it reminded him of an old Hindi movie. “What is this G RAM G? It sounds like some old Bollywood movie name like Ji Mummy Ji. Is this a name for a bill?” he asked.
He objected strongly to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme, calling it inappropriate. “First, you have removed the name of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, from the scheme. It is wrong to erase his name from such a historic and important programme,” he said.
While acknowledging that governments may choose to rename schemes, Abdullah said such changes must be accompanied by improvements in governance. “Changing names is fine, but there should also be progressive changes in how the government functions. People don’t care about this name-change politics; they look at our work,” he said.
Abdullah also expressed concern over the financial implications of the new bill, saying the revised funding structure would place a significant burden on states. He added that Jammu and Kashmir would derive no benefit from the scheme under the new arrangement.
Parliament has passed the bill, which increases guaranteed employment under the scheme from 100 days to 125 days per year for rural households.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah said he had chaired review meetings in both the Jammu and Kashmir divisions to assess preparedness for an expected spell of snowfall. “I personally came here, we took meetings and discussed all necessary preparations about snowfall, and all have been completed across both divisions, including all districts in the Valley and the mountainous areas of Jammu,” he said.
He noted that while preparations were in place, their adequacy would only be clear once the snowfall began. “We are ready, but if this snow creates difficulties, people will still welcome it. We have all been waiting for snowfall,” Abdullah said.
He added that snowfall would mark the formal start of the winter tourism season, which has been delayed due to a prolonged dry spell. According to him, it is also expected to improve air quality and reduce pollution in the region.
Abdullah further said he maintains consistency in his political stance, regardless of location. “I am not a person who speaks one language in Delhi and another in Srinagar,” he said. “I don’t say one thing in Delhi and something else here. If Delhi does well, I say it’s good. They have done everything right except for statehood, but they haven’t given us anything regarding statehood. I don’t play politics.”
