Rahul recalls farmers’ protest as Cong ups ante on MGNREGA repeal

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday sought to frame the MGNREGA issue as a constitutional and democratic challenge rather than a routine policy dispute at a national convention of MGNREGA workers held at the Jawahar Bhawan.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the struggle to reclaim MGNREGA would be long and arduous, warning that symbolic protests alone would not suffice. “This is not merely about a scheme. It is about the destruction of gram swaraj and the rights of the poorest,” he said, accusing the BJP of conspiring to weaken decentralised governance.

The convention, organised by the Rachnatmak Congress led by Sandeep Dikshit, brought together nearly 400 workers and activists from over 20 States, many of whom spoke of shrinking workdays, delayed payments and increasing central control. As a symbolic gesture, participants brought soil from their respective MGNREGA worksites, which was gathered together to underline solidarity and shared resolve.

With the traditional labourer’s ‘gamchha’ on their head, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi also posed with spades in their hands at the event.

“By ending MGNREGA, the government has attacked the poor and weaker sections of rural India, and this is being opposed across the country... we had started MGNREGA in the name of Mahatma Gandhi ji, but this government is determined to destroy it,” the Congress chief claimed.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, described the dilution of the MGNREGA as an attack on the Constitution, drawing parallels with demonetisation, the now-repealed farm laws and the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax. He argued that MGNREGA had institutionalised dignity by granting the poor a legal right to demand work, while strengthening Panchayati Raj institutions by allowing local bodies to decide the nature of employment.

“The new approach seeks to snatch away that right,” Gandhi said, alleging that the Centre was attempting to decentralise power and finances.

Recalling the farmers’ agitation that forced the repeal of the three farm laws, Gandhi called for unity among workers, marginal farmers and the rural poor. “When people stand together, this government retreats,” he said.