Accusing the Uttar Pradesh Government of the misuse of funds for the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP), the Congress General Secretary, Digvijay Singh said here on Tuesday that toys, almirahs and calendars were brought from the money.
Mr. Singh said the misuse of MGNREGP funds was based on a review of the scheme’s implementation conducted by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. The review also found that a particular official posted in the districts favoured only one NGO, the AICC General Secretary in charge for UP told reporters here.
Alleging Mayawati Government of corrupt practices, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief said the officials are suspended but reinstated soon after. Mr. Singh demanded that the entire money should be recovered from the corrupt officials and they should be compulsory retired from service.
Mr. Singh said the progress of NREGP and other Central schemes in Uttar Pradesh was slow and the work executed by the implementing agencies was unsatisfactory. He added that the Congress was keeping a close watch on their implementation.
Unveiling the Congress’ programme for strengthening the party at the grassroot level, Mr. Singh said meetings would be held at the block level in all the 403 Vidhan Sabha constituencies to commemorate the One hundred Twenty-fifth year of the party’s existence.
He said the programme would begin with a public meeting in Ambedkar Nagar on April 14. The rally would be addressed by the Congress General Secretary, Rahul Gandhi. The programme would end in Allahabad on November 10, 2010. Mr. Singh said the first meeting of the Congress Working Committee was held in Swaraj Bhawan in Allahabad on November 10, 1910.
The focus of the eight month long programme will be on development and the history of the Indian National Congress.
Thereafter, a year long campaign to expose the corruption of the Mayawati Government would be held from December 28, 2010 to December 28, 2011, the former MP Chief Minister added.
Backing Women’s reservation bill
Mr. Singh denied that the Women Reservation Bill was anti-Backwards and anti-Muslim, and said that new opportunities would be created for women to assume centre-stage.
He assailed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati for not giving compensation to the Kripalu Ashram stampede victims. He said crores were being spent by the State Government on the upcoming BSP rally on March 15, but no money was available for the victims, nor the Chief Minister has time to visit the victims’s families.
