Source The Hindu
The Congress party on Friday announced that it will begin a nationwide campaign from January 5 to oppose what it claims is the Centre’s move to gradually weaken and scrap the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The campaign will focus on highlighting the importance of the rural employment scheme and mobilising public support to protect it.
Senior Congress leaders said the party would organise rallies, padyatras, press conferences and village-level outreach programmes across states to draw attention to issues such as delayed wage payments, reduced allocations and alleged dilution of the scheme’s core guarantees. The campaign is expected to involve Members of Parliament, MLAs and local party workers, with a special emphasis on rural and tribal areas.
The Congress alleged that the BJP-led central government has consistently undermined MGNREGA by cutting funds and introducing administrative changes that restrict access to work. Party leaders argued that at a time of rising unemployment and inflation, MGNREGA remains a critical safety net for millions of rural households.
“The government may not have formally announced the scrapping of MGNREGA, but its actions show a clear intent to weaken the scheme. Through this nationwide movement, we will expose the reality on the ground and stand with rural workers,” a senior Congress leader said.
The BJP, however, has rejected the Congress’s allegations, maintaining that MGNREGA continues to be a priority welfare scheme. The government has repeatedly stated that allocations depend on demand for work and accused the opposition of spreading misinformation for political gains.
Launched in 2005, MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to rural households willing to do unskilled manual work. The scheme has often been at the centre of political debate, with opposition parties accusing the Centre of neglect, while the government insists on reforms to improve transparency and efficiency.
With the Lok Sabha elections drawing closer, the Congress’s planned campaign is expected to intensify political confrontation over rural employment, welfare spending and the government’s social security policies.
