Chandigarh, February 3
The Congress party has strongly protested against the proposed changes to the original structure of MGNREGA in Haryana. Since the Central Government’s decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a new law titled “Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural)” (VB-GRAM-G), the controversy has intensified. The Congress alleges that this change is a conspiracy to weaken the rights-based and demand-driven framework of the scheme and to snatch away the rights of poor rural workers.
Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President Rao Narendra Singh stated that district-level protests are being organized at all district headquarters across the state from January 31 to February 6 under the banner of MGNREGA Bachao Sangram. He informed that under his leadership, a protest will be held in Bhiwani on February 5 at 11:00 a.m. and in Jind district at 1:00 p.m., after which memorandums addressed to the Hon’ble President of India will be submitted to the respective District Collectors.
Singh said that the Congress’s clear objective is to protect the original structure of MGNREGA and to convey the long-standing problems of rural workers to the Central Government. The party maintains that MGNREGA is not an ordinary scheme, but a legal right for rural families, which guarantees 100 days of employment. Although the new law claims to increase this to 125 days, the Congress views it as an attempt to dilute the scheme through centralized control, budgetary limitations, and seasonal restrictions.
