The Congress party has announced a 45-day nationwide protest, titled "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram," commencing on January 10 and lasting until February 25, 2026. This large-scale agitation aims to challenge the Modi government's newly enacted Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-G RAM G) Act and to restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to its original form as a rights-based program. The party also voices strong objections to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the rural employment scheme.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) revealed that the "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram" is designed to defend the right to work, protect Panchayati Raj institutions, and stand in solidarity with women workers, Dalits, Adivasis, and the rural poor, who are the primary beneficiaries of MGNREGA. Congress intends to take this issue to every village in the country.

Senior Congress leaders, including K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, have stated that the new VB-G RAM G Act ensures complete centralization, effectively eliminating employment as a right. The party intends to challenge the Act in court, asserting that it violates Article 258 of the Constitution. They argue that the Act imposes a 60:40 funding split between the central government and the states without proper consultation, placing an undue financial burden on the states.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the party will resist the VB-G RAM G Act peacefully and firmly, from every panchayat to the Parliament. He emphasized that MGNREGA is not charity but a legal guarantee that has reduced hunger, distress migration, raised rural wages, and strengthened women's economic dignity.

The "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram" will unfold in multiple phases. It will begin with district-level press conferences on January 10, followed by day-long fasts and symbolic protests at district headquarters on January 11. Panchayat-level meetings and mass contact programs are scheduled from January 12 to 29, with ward-level sit-in protests planned for January 30, coinciding with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's martyrdom. State-level "gheraos" of Vidhan Sabhas, Raj Bhawans, or other central government offices will occur between February 7 and 15. The culmination of the 45-day protest will be marked by four zonal mega rallies between February 16 and 25.

The Congress party views this protest as a "sangram" (battle) to signal a more combative approach in response to the perceived chipping away of rights-oriented legislation. They aim to replicate the success of protests against the three farm laws by mobilizing at the grassroots level.

While the "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram" will be largely focused at the panchayat, block, district and state levels, a mega rally is also planned in Ranchi on January 5 to protest the VB-G RAM G.

Congress leaders have hinted at the possibility of legal recourse, arguing that the VB-G RAM G Act violates Article 258 of the Constitution by placing 40% of the funding burden on states without their agreement. They claim that no BJP-ruled state is in a position to implement the law.