The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGs) is winning kudos from all quarters. On Wednesday, it was the G-20 labour ministers' summit in Washington that praised it, while on Thursday it was the turn of the BJP-led opposition to hail the initiative.

Gopinath Munde, deputy leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, praised the scheme while demanding a reply on the employment schemes the government has launched for the states. Munde, however, was concerned about the gap in the delivery mechanism of the employee guarantee act.  He was taking part in a debate on the demands for grants under control of ministry of rural development in Lok Sabha.

Kamla Devi, a BJP MP praised the government for reserving one third of seats in the panchayati raj institutions for women and for according constitutional status to these institutions.

The UPA did not wait to return the compliment.

Rural Development Minister C P Joshi said that the UPA government had substantially increased the outlay for the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), a scheme launched by the NDA government.