Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge recently participated in the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ in New Delhi. This event, attended by various Congress leaders, aimed to protest against the Modi government’s actions regarding the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Alka Lamba, President of All India Mahila Congress, criticized the central government for what she described as a unilateral attack on the MGNREGA scheme without consulting stakeholders. Lamba expressed concerns over the alleged removal of jobs from rural workers and the erasure of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the program.
The Congress party has launched the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ as a nationwide movement to oppose the government’s proposed changes to MGNREGA. The party argues that any attempts to alter or replace the scheme would negatively impact impoverished workers and go against Mahatma Gandhi’s principles.
Congress is demanding the immediate restoration of MGNREGA, the reinstatement of the right to work, timely payment of wages, and the enforcement of a nationwide minimum wage of Rs 400. The party emphasizes the significance of MGNREGA as a crucial social welfare program that has supported millions of rural families over the years.
Congress’s efforts to mobilize support for the cause have seen the involvement of various leaders and civil society organizations. The party aims to transform this movement into a sustained nationwide campaign to safeguard the integrity of MGNREGA and uphold the values it represents.
