New Delhi [India], November 6 (ANI): Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh has hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “mastering the art of distorting facts” over the government’s beneficiary identification mechanism, asserting that the Centre remains firmly committed to transparent delivery of benefits without the involvement of middlemen.
Clarifying the government’s stance regarding the verification process under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM VGSY), the Union Minister stated on social media platform X that the identity of trainees will be verified through both the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and biometric-based Aadhaar authentication.
“Rahul Gandhi ji has mastered the art of distorting facts. The government is committed to ensuring that benefits reach the genuine beneficiaries directly, leaving no scope for middlemen to misuse the system,” Singh posted on X.
Elaborating on the framework of the scheme, the Minister said, “The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM VGSY) aims to provide essential training and guidance to every eligible Panchayat representative and individuals associated with a Panchayat. Under this scheme, the identity of the trainees will be verified using their EPIC number and biometric-based Aadhaar authentication.”
The Union Minister’s counter comes in the wake of sharp allegations levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, who alleged a “deep-seated conspiracy” by the ruling dispensation to manipulate elections and disenfranchise voters.
In a post on X, Gandhi claimed that the new arrangement threatens the fundamental rights of citizens by tying essential government benefits directly to electoral rolls, which he alleged are being manipulated. He also stated that those who are “furious with the BJP” will be the first ones to be targeted.
“Modi government minister’s announcement – Benefits of schemes will now be determined not by Aadhaar, but by Voter ID. The conspiracy runs very deep; take your time to understand it,” he said.
In the video posted by Gandhi, the Union Minister sayd, ” Now the basis for payment to the beneficiaries will not be the Aadhaar card. The Aadhaar card is now available from organizations in every street. Just ask them, and they will get an Aadhaar card ready for you in five minutes. So, the Aadhaar card will no longer be the basis. For the payment of all the beneficiaries, the biometric and the Epic number, which is the voter ID’s Epic number, will be the basis and the payment will be made based on that.”
Using that as his fulcrum, the Lok Sabha LoP alleged that under the guise of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercises, millions of names belonging to critics and opponents of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are being systematically targeted and removed from voter lists.
He noted, “Under the guise of SIR, millions of names are being struck off voter lists; if not stopped, even more will be removed. Whose names are being targeted the most? Those who are furious with the BJP.”
Gandhi further accused the government of centralising control over electoral databases. He said that now the votes are directly in the hands of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who has been “caught red-handed.”
“Voter lists should be in the hands of an impartial Election Commission, but now they’re in the hands of Modi government employee Gyanesh Kumar, whose collusion with the BJP in vote theft we’ve caught red-handed with evidence. The preparation is underway to craft such a list where the majority is always BJP’s, and now that very list will decide whether you get scheme benefits or not,” he said.
He asserted that the preparation is underway to craft curated voter rolls to ensure a permanent electoral advantage for the ruling party, transforming India into a “hijacked democracy-where the people don’t elect the government, the government selects its people.”
“Name struck, vote gone. Vote gone, rights gone,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi further alleged that this arrangement is a way to steal elections and is meant to steal the voting rights of the citizens.
“This isn’t politics to win elections; it’s an arrangement to steal elections and a permanent setup to cling to power. Voting is your right, not a condition. A poor person’s pension cannot be enslaved to their voter card. This isn’t just vote theft; it’s rights theft. We won’t let this happen,” he asserted. (ANI)
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