Annamalai dares Stalin to allow CBI probe into MGNREGS ‘scam’; releases documents

CHENNAI: Accusing the DMK government of large-scale corruption in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), BJP state president K Annamalai on Sunday fired a series of questions to Chief Minister MK Stalin, demanding accountability and a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities.

In a statement, Annamalai highlighted that Tamil Nadu had received an unprecedented allocation of Rs 39,339 crore from the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership over the last four years.

However, a significant portion of these funds had been misappropriated by people in the DMK regime, he alleged.

"Stalin, now that you have been caught in a web of irregularities in MGNREGS's execution, will you grant consent for a CBI investigation to uncover the rampant corruption in the scheme?" he asked.

The BJP leader further pointed out the glaring discrepancies in fund allocation, stating that states with three to five times Tamil Nadu's rural population had received lower MGNREGS grants.

"Why has Tamil Nadu been allotted disproportionately higher funds? Is it because of large-scale misuse and siphoning of money?" he asked.

Taking a dig at the DMK's 2021 election manifesto, Annamalai reminded Stalin of the party's unfulfilled promise to increase MGNREGS workdays from 100 to 150.

"Instead of delivering on its commitments, the DMK has looted money meant for the hardworking rural poor," he charged.

Describing the DMK government as "not just corrupt but conniving, cruel, and divisive," Annamalai also released purported documentary evidence of alleged MGNREGS fund misappropriation in a panchayat in Erode district, calling it just the "tip of the iceberg" in a larger statewide scam.

Also Read:

Sadist BJP denying Rs 4,034 cr MGNREGS funds, says CM Stalin

MGNREGS wage in TN to go up by Rs 15; Rs 336 per day from April 1

Pinching the poor’s pocket: Fund crunch cuts MGNREGS to 43 days in Tamil Nadu