New Delhi [India], November 4 (ANI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of allowing alleged irregularities under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme under the name of Lord Ram, claiming that cases of fake attendance through clone applications had surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur and Sant Kabir Nagar districts.
In a post on X, Ramesh said a similar case had now been reported in Sant Kabir Nagar, as an earlier case of alleged fake attendance in Gorakhpur had come to light.
“Earlier, a major case of fake attendance under the VB-G RAM G scheme had come to light in Gorakhpur. After our side raised the issue, the government also issued a clarification. Now, a similar case under the same scheme has surfaced in Sant Kabir Nagar district. Cases of recording fake attendance through clone apps are repeatedly being exposed, which is an extremely serious matter.”
https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/2117851063915291038?a=o7m3BDvuiDWLxedmyJ8&s=20
Drawing a link between the alleged irregularities and what he described as the misuse of Lord Ram’s name, the Congress leader questioned the BJP over the incidents.
“Donations stolen and offerings stolen in the name of Ram, fake employment in the name of Ram. How much more sin does the BJP have left to commit in the name of Ram?” he wrote.
Earlier, on October 13, Ramesh had also accused the BJP of undermining the rural employment guarantee framework and alleged that fake attendance under the VB-G RAM G scheme was being used to deprive poor people of their employment rights.
In his earlier post, he had linked the issue to what he described as embezzlement in the name of Lord Ram and an attack on the right to 100 days of employment under MGNREGA.
“First, embezzlement in the name of Lord Shri Ram, then an assault on the right to 100 days of employment under MGNREGA, and now the government’s loot on the poor through fake attendance in VB-G RAM G! The name is Ram’s, the attack is on the poor, and the plunder is of the right to employment! This is not mere corruption; it is looting trust in the name of faith and robbing the poor of their rights in the name of employment.
“In BJP’s politics, neither true devotion toward Lord Shri Ram is evident, nor compassion toward the poor. Taking Lord Shri Ram’s name for the politics of power and striking at the poor’s rights—this is BJP’s true strategy, character, and face,” he had said.
In a similar incident in August, suspected case of irregularities worth crores of rupees have come to light in the works executed under the VB-G RAM G scheme in the Sam Panchayat Samiti of Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, officials said.
Taking advantage of a technical flaw in the central government’s official VB-G RAM G application, the fraud was allegedly carried out in a planned manner using a third-party app.
Upon receiving information regarding the fraud, the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, held a video conference with the Rajasthan government on August 21. During the meeting, the Ministry was informed that out of approximately 2.56 lakh cases of photo duplication in workers’ face authentications across the state, Jaisalmer district alone accounted for an overwhelming 2.05 lakh cases.
The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, or the VB-G RAM G Act, came into effect on July 1. The centrally sponsored welfare schemes were passed in the Winter Session of Parliament in 2025. The legislation replaced the 100-day employment guarantee with a 125-day guarantee. (ANI)
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