BJP leaders have lost the right to protest in front of Gandhi statue

By Editor

Posted on January 28, 2026

BJP leaders have lost the right to protest in front of Gandhi statue

Bengaluru : Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President D K Shivakumar today said that the Congress party has decided to name all the 6000 panchayat offices in Karnataka after Mahatma Gandhi.

Speaking after participating in Raj Bhavan Chalo, a protest march against discontinuation of MGNREGA scheme, he said, “

KPCC Vice President Ugrappa and KPCC office bearers have written to me about this. We have requested the CM about this. By naming gram panchayat offices after Mahatma Gandhi, his legacy will be made permanent. Gandhiji’s conviction was to have a school, cooperative society and a panchayat for every village.”

“We are fighting for the employment rights of the poor. It was Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh who gave employment to rural people. In 2013, the World Bank had lauded this project. Under the project, Rs 6000 crore was being spent in around 5700 panchayats,” he said.

“Panchayats used to decide on the works to be taken up under MGNREGA. The scheme helped farmers to work in their farm and get paid. This project was formulated by C P Joshi under the guidance of Sonia Gandhi. Indira Awas scheme, cattle sheds and agricultural works were covered under MGNREGA,” he added.

“The Centre used to fund 90% of the scheme and the state used to pay the rest. For works involving steel and cement, the state had to pay a share of 25%. The scheme had employed 7,000 people in supervisory capacity. The new scheme expects the states to pay 40% of the cost. We are conducting a special session and let’s see what the BJP leaders will say,” he added.

BJP has lost the right to sit in front of Gandhi statue
“I heard that the BJP is protesting in front of Gandhi statue. They have lost the right to sit before the Gandhi statue. They have also lost the right to hang a photo of Gandhiji in their offices. Nathuram Godse killed Gandhiji and now BJP and NDA are killing his legacy. You can’t erase his name from history,” he added.

Kumaraswamy and BJP leaders can come for a debate
“Kumaraswamy and BJP leaders can come for a debate on MGNREGA, I am ready. It is 20 years since the scheme came into effect, of which BJP has been in power for 11 years. What were they doing if irregularities have taken place in the scheme? It is not right to scrap the entire scheme if there are some instances of corruption,” he said.

“The Centre has not paid the dues of MGNREGA. It is not possible even for the BJP ruled states to implement the new scheme. NDA ally Chandrababu Naidu himself has raised concerns about the new scheme. The BJP government will get into trouble if it doesn’t withdraw the new scheme. Chandrababu Naidu has sent the warning signal,” he added.