Rahul Gandhi Criticises MGNREGA Repeal, Says Govt Treating Workers Like Farmers
Congress launches nationwide campaign against VB-G RAM G Act, urging citizens to protect workers’ rights
New Delhi, Jan 22: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday criticised the Modi government, claiming that the repeal of MGNREGA under the VB-G RAM G Act mirrors the approach taken with the controversial “three black farm laws.” Speaking at the National MGNREGA Workers’ Convention organised by the Rachnatmak Congress, Gandhi urged workers and the poor to unite against the new legislation.
“The original purpose of MGNREGA was to provide work as a right to those in need, implemented through Panchayati Raj institutions. The government now wants to end this rights based approach,” Gandhi said.
He drew a parallel with the farm laws, stating, “We all united to oppose the three black farm laws, and the government repealed them. Now, the same strategy is being applied to workers.”
Gandhi alleged that under the new law, the Centre will control work allocation and funding, favouring BJP-ruled states. “What workers previously received will now be handed over to contractors and bureaucracy. The aim is to centralise assets in the hands of a few, making the poor dependent on big corporates like Adani and Ambani,” he said.
During the convention, workers from across India brought a fistful of soil from their work sites, planting it as a symbolic gesture in the presence of Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Congress launched a 45-day nationwide campaign, ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’, on January 10, demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law, safeguarding workers’ entitlement to work and empowering local panchayats.
