Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday alleged that the Modi government is trying to dilute and eventually repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and said its approach is similar to the way the Centre had introduced the \u201cthree farm laws\u201d.<\/p>\n
Addressing the National MGNREGA Workers\u2019 Convention, organised by the party\u2019s frontal organisation Rachnatmak Congress, Gandhi said MGNREGA was introduced to ensure the right to work for the rural poor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMGNREGA was built on the idea of rights \u2014 that anyone who needs work must get work. It was designed to function through the third tier of governance, the Panchayati Raj system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Like farm laws, poor must unite\u2019<\/p>\n
Gandhi claimed the government had earlier introduced the three farm laws, which were later repealed after farmers united and pressed for withdrawal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are doing the same thing with workers now as they did with farmers,\u201d he said, urging poor people across the country to unite against the proposed changes.<\/p>\n
Concerns over fund allocation<\/p>\n
The Congress leader alleged that under the proposed Viksit Bharat \u2013 Guarantee for Rozgar Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, the Centre would gain greater control over work selection and fund allocation.<\/p>\n
He claimed that BJP-ruled states would get preference, while contractors and bureaucracy would benefit more than workers.<\/p>\n
\u2018Assets in few hands\u2019<\/p>\n
Gandhi further alleged that the model being promoted would concentrate assets in the hands of a few, making the poor dependent on big corporate houses.<\/p>\n
Symbolic gesture by workers<\/p>\n
Workers from different parts of the country participated in the convention and brought a fistful of soil from their work sites. The soil was later used to plant saplings in a symbolic gesture in the presence of Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.<\/p>\n
Congress launches campaign<\/p>\n
The Congress has launched a 45-day nationwide campaign titled \u2018MGNREGA Bachao Sangram\u2019 from January 10, demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of MGNREGA in its original rights-based form, including the authority of panchayats and the right to work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday alleged that the Modi government is trying to dilute and eventually repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and said its approach is similar to the way the Centre had introduced the \u201cthree farm laws\u201d. Addressing the National […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n