New Delhi - Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called on MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers to emulate the farmers' successful protest against the now-repealed farm laws and stand united against the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G). Gandhi made these remarks while addressing the National MGNREGA Workers' Convention in Delhi on Thursday. The convention was organized by Rachnatmak Congress, a wing of the Congress party.
Gandhi asserted that the Modi government's objectives in repealing MGNREGA are the same as they were when bringing in the "three black farm laws" that the farmers protested against in 2020-21. He said that collective pressure had previously forced the government to withdraw legislation and claimed a similar approach was being used against workers through the new employment law. He urged workers and poor citizens to unite against the VB-G RAM G Act.
According to Gandhi, MGNREGA was conceived as a rights-based program guaranteeing employment to the poor through the Panchayati Raj system, a principle he said was now under threat. He stated that the BJP wants to end the concept of providing work to those who need it, a concept that was run through the third tier of government, Panchayati Raj. He criticized the centralized framework of the VB-G RAM G Act, stating it handed the Union government control over fund allocation, enabling discrimination against opposition-ruled states and favoring BJP-ruled ones. He warned that benefits previously accessible to workers could now be diverted to contractors and bureaucrats.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president, also spoke at the convention, accusing the Union government of paving the way for "bonded labor" by scrapping MGNREGA. He pledged to "fight to the finish" until the UPA-era scheme is restored in its original form. Kharge said the Congress would oppose the renaming of MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G and pledged to take up the issue during the upcoming Budget session starting January 28. He asserted that the proposed name change was aimed at removing Mahatma Gandhi's legacy from public life and weakening the foundational idea of Gram Swaraj embedded in the employment guarantee scheme.
The Congress party has launched a 45-day nationwide campaign called 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' on January 10, demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and the restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based scheme, along with the reinstatement of the authority of Panchayats. In a symbolic act, workers attending the convention brought soil from their respective work sites and placed it in plants, underscoring the grassroots nature of the campaign.
Gandhi accused the government of attempting to undermine and dismantle democracy and the Constitution and wanting to destroy the concept, idea, and structure of modern India. He also alleged that the ruling party wants an India "where the King decides everything".
