The Congress will launch a nationwide protest from January 5 to demand the repeal of the 2025 Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, said party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee in New Delhi, Kharge stated that an oath had been taken to protect the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act under all circumstances.
“MGNREGA is not a scheme, it is the right to work granted by the Constitution of India,” the Congress chief said. “We will unite and struggle for the dignity of rural labourers, employment, wages, and the right to timely payment, and protect the right to demand-based employment and gram sabha.”
He added that the party will also democratically oppose every “conspiracy to erase” Mahatma Gandhi’s name from MGNREGA.
The 2025 Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill was given assent by the president on December 21, two days after it was passed by Parliament amid protests by Opposition parties. The new rural employment law will replace the MGNREGA.
The MGNREGA was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of households in rural areas. The scheme guaranteed 100 days of unskilled work annually for every rural household that wants it, covering all districts in the country.
Under the new law, the number of guaranteed workdays will increase to 125, while states’ share of costs will rise to 40%. The Union government will continue to bear the wage component, with states sharing material and administrative expenses.
The legislation has drawn criticism from economists and labour rights experts.
On Saturday, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also noted that MGNREGA was not just a work programme but a conceptual development framework that has been appreciated across the world.
“This has been destroyed single-handedly by the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] without asking his Cabinet, without studying the matter,” Gandhi said. “This is an attack on the states of India because they are simply taking away money that belongs to the state, decision-making power that belongs to the state.”
He added that the party was going to fight the replacement of the Act, adding that he was confident that the entire Opposition was going to be aligned with them.
Kharge flags voter deletions, attacks on churches
Kharge also flagged the deletion of voters during the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission, claiming that it was a “well-planned conspiracy” to limit democratic rights, ANI reported.
Noting that it was a matter of serious concern, the Congress chief claimed that the “collusion” between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and the Election Commission was “well known to all”.
He said that Rahul Gandhi had also previously presented evidence of “vote theft” in the country with facts and examples.
Gandhi and the Congress have repeatedly accused the Election Commission of large-scale vote rigging, including in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls held in 2024, alleging what they called “industrial-scale rigging involving the capture of national institutions.” The Election Commission has rejected those allegations.
“We must ensure that the names of our voters are not deleted,” Kharge said. He also directed party workers to ensure that the votes of marginalised communities were not removed or transferred to other booths.
The poll panel is conducting the revision in 12 states and Union Territories. Booth-level officers began distributing enumeration forms on November 4. Overall, around 3.6 crore electors in 11 states and Union Territories have been deleted so far in the exercise.
The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to be published on December 31.
The final electoral rolls for all states and Union Territories where the exercise is underway are to be published on February 14.
In Bihar, where the revision was completed ahead of the Assembly polls in November, at least 47 lakh voters were excluded from the final electoral roll published on September 30.
Concerns had been raised after the announcement in Bihar that the exercise could remove eligible voters from the roll. Several petitioners also moved the Supreme Court against it.
The Congress chief on Friday also condemned the attacks on the Christian community during Christmas celebrations by organisations that he claimed were linked to the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, adding that this had disturbed communal harmony and tainted India’s image globally.
The RSS is the parent organisation of the ruling BJP at the Centre.
Several incidents of attacks on Christians or disruptions to Christmas celebrations have been reported in the past week.
The Congress Working Committee meeting on Friday comes ahead of Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry next year.
Also read:
BJP chief ministers wanted MGNREGA to include farm work. Modi government’s bill goes another way
‘A bill to destroy MGNREGA’: Why experts fear the worst from new job guarantee bill
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