Congress to launch ‘MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan’ from January 5

Mallikarjun Kharge

The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of MGNREGA scheme on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said, after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

The VB-G RAM G Bill, replacing the 20-year-old MGNREGA, was passed in Parliament during the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament amid vociferous protests by the opposition. The new law has a provision for 125 days of wage employment for rural workers.

He said, "MGNREGA was not just a scheme, but the Right to Work given by the Constitution," adding that the party leaders took an oath of protecting MGNREGA at any cost. Referring to the cost-sharing clause between the Centre and state governments under the VB-G RAM G Act, he said states will have an additional expenditure burden and termed it a one-sided decision taken without consultation. "This law has been brought to crush the poor. We will fight against it on the streets and in Parliament," he said.

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