The Congress has initiated a countrywide movement to oppose alterations to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), aiming to restore the original provisions of the law. This campaign involves organizing protests in various states and urging over 2.5 lakh gram sabhas to demand the preservation of the right-to-work legislation. Starting with statewide demonstrations in states like Uttarakhand and Bihar, the Congress is gearing up for one of its most extensive grassroots mobilizations in recent times.
Party leaders are critical of the government’s actions, claiming that the amendments have weakened the authority of gram panchayats in determining work nature and employment allocation. They argue that such changes undermine the fundamental objective of MGNREGA, which is to offer rural households a legal entitlement to seek employment when necessary. In Uttarakhand, the Congress has announced a statewide protest against the alleged replacement of MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat G Ram G Rural Act.
The decision to launch these protests was made during a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee led by Kumari Selja, the Uttarakhand Congress incharge. Scheduled for January 10, the party plans to conduct district-level press conferences in Uttarakhand to highlight the repercussions of the new framework and emphasize the disparities between the existing employment guarantees and those under MGNREGA. Party leaders fear that the modifications could negatively impact rural livelihoods and weaken decentralized governance structures.
In Bihar, the Congress is set to kick off a ‘Save MNREGA’ campaign targeting what it perceives as the anti-MNREGA policies of the Modi government. Party workers will engage in door-to-door outreach to raise awareness among rural communities. The campaign is designed to encompass both grassroots mobilization and legislative efforts, with the party ready to escalate the issue from local protests to the state Assembly.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has directed all state units to extend the agitation to rural areas, aiming to secure resolutions from over 2.5 lakh gram sabhas nationwide in support of reinstating the original provisions of MGNREGA. Recently, the Congress launched the ‘MNREGA Bachao Sangram’ in Jammu, led by AICC General Secretary Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hameed Karra. The event, held at the Kashmir Hills Resort in Jammu, drew participation from various party members, signaling the party’s commitment to a sustained nationwide protest to safeguard MGNREGA.
