06-06-2023 : The Congress party strongly criticized the government on Tuesday, asserting that no amount of manipulation with GDP growth numbers and GST revenues can conceal the economic distress experienced by a large portion of the Indian population. To support their argument, they highlighted the significant increase in demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary (communications), pointed out that the demand for MGNREGA work was only surpassed during the unprecedented pandemic, indicating the extent of economic distress in rural India. In a tweet, he remarked that while the Modi government boasts about “record GST revenues,” it conveniently neglects to mention the record-breaking number of households, exceeding three crore, that sought MGNREGA work in May.