Gandhi said the proposed VB-G RAM G Act mirrors the approach taken with the now-repealed farm laws and warned it would weaken labour rights.
Congress alleged the new framework would shift control from panchayats, favour BJP-ruled states, and benefit contractors over workers.
Party demanded withdrawal of the new Act and restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law.
Idea Is To Dilute The Constitution: Rahul Gandhi On BJP's Move To Replace MGNREGA
At a national workers’ convention, Congress leaders accused the Modi government of diluting a rights-based employment law, likening the new act to the now-repealed contentious farm laws.
Summary
Summary
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the Modi government of pursuing the same objectives in seeking to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as it did while introducing the now-repealed “three black farm laws”.
Addressing the National MGNREGA Workers’ Convention organised by the Rachnatmak Congress, Gandhi, on Thursday, said the proposed Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act was an attempt to dilute a rights-based welfare law and urged the poor to unite against the move.
Drawing parallels with the now-repealed farm laws, Rahul said the government was attempting a similar approach with labour rights. “This was done with farmers across the country. After our protests and their protests, the laws had to be taken back. Now they are trying the same thing with labourers,” he said.
Gandhi accused the BJP of pursuing policies that concentrate wealth in the hands of a few. “All BJP policies are like this. They want the entire wealth of the country to remain with a few people. The poor of the country that include Dalits, Adivasis and the marginalised are expected to remain dependent on corporates like Adani and Ambani. If they do not comply, they are pushed to hunger,” he alleged.
He further claimed that the government’s agenda was to weaken constitutional values. “The idea is to dilute the Constitution, dilute democracy, and take the country back to a pre-Independence era where power rested with a king. They want to break the structure of modern India,” Gandhi said.
Calling for unity, he added, “If we all stand together, they will be scared. It is the poor of this country, who believe in democracy, the Constitution, and the idea of India, who will decide what the scheme should be called and how far it should go. Wherever possible, we will stand with the poor of the country.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party’s opposition would continue until the government withdrew the proposed changes. “This is a long fight and it will not end with protests and slogans. Until the new law is taken back and the old law is restored, we will not stop,” he said.
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Kharge said the Congress would raise the issue in the Parliament. “We still do not know what their problem with MGNREGA is. This is not a fight for any political party, but for your own rights. It is an attempt to take away what you are entitled to,” he said.
“The thinking was to provide work to those who need it. This scheme was to be run through the third tier of government, Panchayati Raj. The word rights were important. All poor people had the right to work under MGNREGA and PM Modi and BJP want to finish that concept,” Gandhi said.
A few years ago, they brought in the “three black farm laws” but farmers stopped that after “all of us unitedly put pressure” on the government, the former Congress chief said. With the new law, the Centre will decide the work and allocation of funds with BJP-ruled governments always getting precedence, he said.
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Earlier, what workers used to get will be given to contractors and bureaucracy, Gandhi alleged. Gandhi also said he was unable to remember the name of the new law and asked the audience what it was.
The gathering brought together workers from across the country, each carrying soil from their respective MGNREGA worksites as a symbol of collective labour and resistance. “MGNREGA has been a source of strength for millions of rural households across the country, yet it has faced opposition from the very beginning. We believe the scheme has brought dignity to workers, and we will continue to fight any attempt to dilute it,” said James Herenj, tribal rights activist and convenor of NREGA Watch Jharkhand.
The Congress launched “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram”, a 45-day nationwide campaign against the repeal of the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, on January 10. The opposition party is demanding the withdrawal of the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act and restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law in its original form, the right to work and the authority of panchayats.
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