Lucknow, Jan 6 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday attacked the Congress and the INDIA bloc, accusing them of opposing the VB – G RAM G Act out of fear of being exposed.

Addressing a press conference on the new legislation here, he said the Opposition’s resistance reflects its continued support to the old model of corruption.

“This opposition is not against development; it is driven by the fear of being exposed,” the Chief Minister quipped.

CM Yogi said that this press conference was necessary as political parties that looted the nation’s resources for decades, forced the poor to starve and compelled the youth to migrate, are now questioning reforms aimed at building a Viksit Bharat.

He claimed that supporting the Act would expose the Opposition’s true character, which is why it continues to oppose it.

He accused the Congress and the INDIA bloc of repeatedly raising doubts about the legislation despite it being a major initiative in the interest of rural India, farmers, and labourers.

“Instead of expressing gratitude to the NDA government, the Opposition is clinging to its old traditions of promoting corruption,” he said.

Explaining the vision of Viksit Bharat, Yogi Adityanath said India can only become developed when its states are developed, and states can progress only when villages are empowered.

“Strengthening the rural economy and ensuring social security and dignity for labourers is the core objective of this law,” he said.

Targeting the Congress and its allies, the Chief Minister alleged that during their tenure, corruption complaints related to incomplete and temporary assets, fake attendance, and wage cuts were rampant across districts and village panchayats.

He pointed to weak grievance redressal mechanisms, ineffective social audits, administrative inefficiencies, and chronic delays in wage payments as defining features of the earlier system.

“Naturally, those whose interests have been hurt by the end of ‘dig and fill’ schemes are now raising an outcry,” Yogi remarked, adding, “These are the very people who dug pits only to fill them again.”

He also targeted the Samajwadi Party, alleging that a major scam under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) occurred in Sonbhadra during its rule. CM Yogi said that a CBI investigation into the matter is currently underway.

Highlighting safeguards under the new law, CM Yogi said the VB – G RAM G Act mandates social audits every six months, introduces a digital and time-bound grievance redressal system, and ensures audits in line with Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) standards, leaving no scope for corruption.

“The VB – G RAM G Act will change the face of rural India,” Yogi asserted, adding, “It guarantees transparency, accountability, and the rights of labourers and farmers. Those opposing it are not standing against the government — they are standing against development and in favour of corruption.”

–IANS

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