Modi govt taking away assured jobs, says Congress at MGNREGA protest

Congress on Friday (January 30) accused the Centre of continuously attacking the poor and undermining their statutory right to employment. The remarks were made during a protest by the party’s Delhi unit against the removal of the MGNREGA scheme.

Several senior party leaders, including General Secretary Jairam Ramesh and Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera, took part in the protest called 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' in the National Capital.

‘PM Modi didn’t like MGNREGA’

During the protest, Ramesh alleged that the Centre scrapped the MNREGA because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not like the law, which is connected to Mahatma Gandhi.

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“But this law has been scrapped because Narendra Modi does not want this law, connected to Mahatma Gandhi Ji, to run for long. He does not want people to get their rights,” said Ramesh.

“The Modi government has scrapped the MGNREGA Act by running a bulldozer over it. MGNREGA was a historic and revolutionary Act that was passed unanimously in September 2005. Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji, Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji, and Rahul Gandhi Ji made significant contributions to the creation of this Act,” he added.

‘Not just a welfare scheme’

Ramesh highlighted the origins and significance of MGNREGA, saying the law was introduced on February 2, 2006, starting from a village in Anantapur, with major contributions from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then National Advisory Council chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi.

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Ramesh said the law was not merely a welfare scheme but a legal right to employment that benefited millions of rural families each year, especially landless households, Dalits, tribals, marginalised communities and women.

He added that the law strengthened grassroots democracy by empowering panchayats and pioneered direct wage payments into the bank accounts of rural workers.

‘Continuous attack on the poor’

Addressing the protest at AICC office, Akbar Road, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Dharmendra Yadav said the government's actions signalled a "continuous attack on the poor."

The Congress has launched a 45-day nationwide "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra" campaign, demanding the repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of the original MGNREGA.

Also Read: VB-G RAM G Bill repeals job guarantee, warns economist Jean Dreze

"This government is continuously attacking the poor. People who were once assured employment are now seeing that guarantees are being taken away. The systems that were meant to support them are being gradually dismantled," Yadav said.

"We must carry this movement forward because this is not a small fight. It is a long battle. For this long struggle, we will have to remain disciplined, but we will also have to work towards forcing this government to bow," he said.

Protesters raised slogans of "MGNREGA chor gaddi chhod" at the protest.

The backdrop

The protest followed a major overhaul of the landmark rural jobs law in Parliament late last year.

The Union government's Viksit Bharat'“Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), was passed by both houses amid opposition uproar and received presidential assent in December 2025, effectively replacing MGNREGA after two decades.

Also Read: VB-G-RAM-G Bill will end MGNREGA in months, says Priyanka Gandhi

Under the new law, the statutory guarantee of employment was increased on paper from 100 to 125 days per rural household each year, and changes were made in funding patterns, planning mechanisms and implementation structures.

Critics, including opposition parties and several state assemblies, have argued that the replacement dilutes the rights-based nature of MGNREGA, increases centralisation of power, and saddles states with greater financial responsibilities, potentially weakening the original legal entitlement to work.

(With agency inputs)