Party launches a 45-day nationwide MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra campaign, demanding the repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh (centre) alongside other Congress leaders takes part in a protest rally in New Delhi on Friday. Pic/PTI
The Congress on Friday launched a scathing attack on the government over the repeal of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that “Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not want the law connected with Mahatma Gandhi” to run for long and people to have a legal right to work.
Senior Congress leaders and workers took out a march from the Congress office at 24, Akbar Road, to the Gandhi Smriti against the “constitutional right to work being snatched away by the Modi government”. However, they were stopped by the police and did not reach Gandhi Smriti.
The Congress has launched a 45-day nationwide “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra” campaign, demanding the repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of the MGNREGA. Protesters raised slogans of “MGNREGA chor gaddi chhod” at the protest.
‘A constitutional right’
Addressing the event, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The Modi government has scrapped the MGNREGA Act by running a bulldozer over it. The MGNREGA law was a constitutional right, providing a legal guarantee of employment to the people. This law strengthened panchayats,” he said.
“MGNREGA was a historic and revolutionary Act that was passed unanimously in September 2005. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh Ji, Sonia Gandhi Ji, and Rahul Gandhi Ji made significant contributions to the creation of this Act,” Ramesh said.
‘Govt attacking poor’
The Union government is continuously attacking the poor and undermining their statutory right to employment, the Congress' Delhi unit said Friday at the protest.
Ramesh further said the MGNREGA gave legal right to employment benefiting lakhs of families but the the Centre was “eroding” these provisions.
He added the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) gave legal right to employment benefiting lakhs of families but the Centre was “eroding” these provisions.
The VB-G RAM G scheme dilutes the UPA-era MGNREGA's original spirit, said the Congress leader.
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the Congress is firmly standing up against this step taken by the Modi government.
What is VB-G RAM G Act?
The Union government's Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), was passed by both houses amid opposition uproar and received presidential assent in December 2025, effectively replacing MGNREGA after two decades.
Under the new law, the statutory guarantee of employment was increased on paper from 100 to 125 days per rural household each year, and changes were made in funding patterns, planning mechanisms and implementation structures.
Opposition parties have argued the new law dilutes the rights-based nature of MGNREGA, increases centralisation of power, and saddles states with greater financial responsibilities, potentially weakening the original legal entitlement to work.
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