MGNREGA Repeal: A Battle for Rural Rights

The Congress party, led by Mallikarjun Kharge, is fiercely opposing the government's decision to repeal MGNREGA. They argue it's a strategy to erase Mahatma Gandhi's legacy and undermine rural workers' rights, promising to contest the move during the upcoming Parliament Budget session.

Amid rising political tension, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has accused the Modi government of conspiring to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s name from history through the repeal of MGNREGA. He contends that the administration is attempting to transform oppressed individuals into 'bonded labourers'.

Kharge, during a National MGNREGA Workers' Convention, pledged that Congress would vehemently challenge the repeal during the Budget session of Parliament. The VB-G RAM G Act, seen as a replacement, is perceived by Congress as an erosion of rights previously granted under the UPA-era scheme.

Symbolic protests marked the convention, with workers bringing soil from work sites and posing with traditional tools. Kharge criticized attempts to reduce the employment guarantee and vowed that the Congress party, with Sonia Gandhi and grassroots workers, is staunchly against such changes, demanding a restoration of MGNREGA.