Hitting out at the UPA government, Former BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe on Friday said that during Congress' rule, NREGA (now MGNREGA) was all about digging pits and filling it.


While speaking at a joint session titled ‘General Elections 2024: Will Democracy Win?’ on the opening day of the third edition of ABP Network’s ‘Ideas of Summit’, the BJP leader said the BJP improvised MGNREGA and working on a transformative vision in tune with an ‘aspirational India’.


Vinay Sahasrabuddhe's comment came in response to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor who was also part of the debate. 


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Shashi Tharoor while highlighting the successes of the UPA government said, "You can say that the MUDRA scheme was not thought of earlier, we can say that we came 6 years after your government. You may not have thought of NREGA, you may not have thought of Right to Information, you have not thought of Right to Education, Food Security. There are many issues that we came up which you don't have."


Responding to Tharoor, Sahasrabuddhe said, "We have improvised MGNREGA. During your rule, it was just digging pits and filling it. This was only going on. Now there is a mechanism by way of which we are creating places of public utility."


The former BJP MP also said that using MGNREGA, gram panchayat bhavans, utilities and temples are being made and the potential of the people, their struggle and the government's resources are being properly utilised.


"You could also have also done it, but you didn't do," he added.


Shashi Tharoor, meanwhile, urged people to not give up on opposition because "the opposition may be your next governemnt."


Sahasrabuddhe was quick to remark, "Imagination has no limits. I don't mind if he imagines that it is going to happen."