After a gap of more than three years, the central government has agreed to resume the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) works in West Bengal with immediate effect, but subject to mandatory adherence to stringent conditions. These include a prohibition on any work valued at more than 20 lakh, compulsory 100 per cent electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) verification of all workers, and mandatory pre-estimation field visits for all works before they are undertaken.
Sonia hit out at the BJP, saying the ruling party's "divisive agenda" has become a regular feature of political discourse in all states and that history is being "mischievously distorted" to add fuel to its agenda.