Rishi Bagree dodges, misleads, and misinforms to defend the Union Government.
He compares current budgetary allocations with 2013-14 data to claim increase in spending for the scheme.
Rishi Bagree is a popular supporter for the ruling BJP government and a prominent figure in the right-wing ecosystem. Several of Rishi’s prolific tweets contain incorrect data and YouTurn had already fact-checked many of his claims. We have compiled a list of misinformation spread by him which is attached at the end of this article. Rishi Bagree had recently made a tweet about the budgetary allocations for the MGNREGA scheme.
Actual expenditure under MGNREGA
2013-14 Rs 32,992 crores
2022-23 Rs 89,400 croresModi govt is spending 3 times more than the UPA govt on MGNREGA https://t.co/7Aff9VR0lO
— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) February 7, 2023
MNREGA
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 paves way for the MGNREGA scheme and it provides a minimum of 100 days’ work to at least one member of a household who volunteer for doing unskilled manual work targeted at the poor and rural sections of the country.
The scheme had received highly polarized opinions as being very effective in bringing a vast proportion of the population out of poverty, increasing consumption of many necessary goods which were previously inaccessible. at the same time, it has been criticized for not creating enough assets, if any, which in fact made the scheme virtually a cash transfer program.
Surge in tweets
Rishi Bagree’s tweets have seen a surge lately as there were many happenings that kept the right-wing ecosystem engaged. The Hindenburg Report on Adani Group, PM-CARES debacle and the Union budget demanded the support of the ecosystem and Rishi was up to it. He had tweeted that no one demanded an enquiry by Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) when shares of Wipro fell.
Wipro's share price fell by 45% and wiped out Rs 2 lakh crore worth of investors' wealth recently.
Yet no one demanded a JPC on Wipro.
— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) February 7, 2023
The tweet was highly misleading, and we have written about it which can be read here.
Reduction in MGNREGA Allocations
In another tweet, he claimed that the expenditure under MGNREGA is at Rs.89,400 crores during the current 2022-23 financial year, whereas it was at Rs.32,992 crores during 2013-14. Although the number itself can be corroborated, it was given in response to a tweet by Nikhil Inamdar, a journalist, who pointed out that not a single Indian business channel has spoken about sharp cuts in MGNREGA allocations.
Literally not a single Indian business channel has spoken about the sharp cuts in MGNREGA allocations. It is as if rural India doesn't exist. #Budget2023
— Nikhil Inamdar (@Nik_Inamdar) February 1, 2023
The MGNREGA’s budgetary allocation received a sharp cut from Rs.73,000 crores in 2021-22 to just Rs.60,000 crores in financial year; a decline of 17.8% compared to the previous year and 33% less compared to the revised estimate of Rs.89,400 crores.
Conclusion
Rishi Bagree’s tweet comes in response to a journalist pointing out this decline in allocation for MNREGA is totally misleading to a common man who is not savvy to the Union Budget allocations over the years, as he would be made to think that there’s no decline at all. Below are the many instances when Rishi Bagree had indulged in spreading misinformation.
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- Rishi Bagree spreads misinformation on Wipro, Tesla to defend Adani Group.
- Bharat Jodo Yatra did halt for Diwali and Dussehra unlike Rishi Bagree and Rohit Chahal claim
- Did BBC remove Kashmir from India Map?
- Was the Mahatma title given to Gandhi by the British?
- BJP supporters mislead Rahul Gandhi is unaware of mic off when he speaks.
- Were Bharat Jodo Yatris including Rahul Gandhi coming out of a bar one by one stumbling?
