The Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) organized a protest march in Ranchi against a new law replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). State Congress President Keshav Mahto Kamlesh led the march from Bapu Vatika to Lok Bhavan in Ranchi.
Before the march commenced, Congress leaders paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue and vowed to continue opposing the alterations to the MGNREGA framework. State Congress in-charge K. Raju highlighted that the UPA government had granted rural poor a legal entitlement to 100 days of employment through MGNREGA, empowering Gram Panchayats to choose projects.
Raju emphasized that the decentralized model of MGNREGA bolstered grassroots development and offered economic security to numerous impoverished households. He pointed out that during the pandemic, MGNREGA played a crucial role in supporting migrant laborers who returned to their villages.
State Congress President Keshav Mahto Kamlesh criticized the reduction in the MGNREGA budget by the current government compared to the UPA era. He expressed concerns over the proposed changes that would shift scheme selection to the Centre, potentially infringing on laborers’ rights and promoting a contract-based system, which he argued contradicted the essence of MGNREGA.
Legislature party leader Pradeep Yadav accused the Centre of systematically undermining pro-people laws, while deputy leader Rajesh Kachhap stressed that MGNREGA was enacted by the Congress to fortify rural economies and prevent distress migration. MP Sukhdev Bhagat condemned the alterations to MGNREGA as an assault on Gandhian principles.
