Chandigarh, February 20
The Congress party has expressed strong resentment over the changes made by the BJP government in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). On this issue, the Congress has opened a front against the government at both the national and state levels. In this context, under the leadership of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President Rao Narender Singh, the party will stage a massive and resolute gherao of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on February 25, 2026.
Providing details, State President Rao Narendra Singh stated that this gherao is against the alleged conspiracy of the central Modi government and the state BJP government, which he claimed are determined to dismantle MGNREGA. He termed it the decisive phase of the “Save MGNREGA Struggle.”
Singh informed that the protest will be attended by State In-charge B.K. Hariprasad, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, MP Kumari Selja, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Deepender Singh Hooda, Co-Incharges Jitendra Baghel and Prafull Gudadhe, along with all MPs, MLAs, former MLAs, district presidents, and thousands of dedicated party workers. He asserted that this is not merely a protest but the beginning of a decisive battle against the BJP’s anti-people policies.
Launching a sharp attack on the BJP government, he alleged that rural workers are being deceived in the name of MGNREGA—facing hunger due to lack of work, months-long delays in wage payments, and apathy from the state government, pushing lakhs of poor families to the brink of starvation. He claimed that the Centre’s move is aimed at weakening MGNREGA, which stands as indirect evidence of the exploitation of the poor, labourers, and farmers. According to him, the BJP’s anti-village, anti-poor, and anti-labour mindset has now been exposed, accusing it of attempting to undermine democracy and devastate rural India to benefit the wealthy.
The State President warned that the Congress party will fight this battle for the rights of distressed workers, struggling farmers, and crisis-hit families in Haryana until the very end. He vowed to hold the BJP government accountable for its anti-people policies.
Rao Narendra Singh clarified that the February 25 Vidhan Sabha gherao will be entirely peaceful, constitutional, and democratic. Thousands of Congress workers, MGNREGA-affected labourers, and their families from across the state will participate. He described it as a historic moment to hold a mirror to what he termed the authoritarian tendencies of the BJP government. Haryana Congress, through the “Save MGNREGA Struggle,” remains committed to safeguarding rural India.
