New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Saturday mentioned the occasion will launch a nationwide mass agitation referred to as MGNREGA Bachao Andolan on 5 January to demand a repeal of the Centre’s newly enacted VB-GRAM G legislation that changed the UPA-era rural employment assure scheme.

Addressing reporters after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) assembly, Kharge mentioned the occasion will struggle on the streets and in Parliament to demand a repeal of the Viksit Bharat-Assure for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)) Act (VB-G RAM G Act), 2025. 

Very similar to the farm legal guidelines, the federal government should take a U-turn on scrapping the MGNREGA as a result of it was a one-sided determination on which neither the state governments nor the folks or stakeholders just like the panchayats had been consulted, Kharge added.

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Additionally Learn: MGNREGA was India’s local weather security internet. VB-GRAMG takes that away

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‘For good thing about 2-3 billionaires’

Chief of the Opposition (LoP) within the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi mentioned repealing the MGNREGA and changing it with the VB-G RAM G Act is a direct assault on the rights-based idea structure, federal construction, and the poor of the nation, and the Congress occasion will struggle again this assault with all its energy.  

Very similar to observe bandi, this determination was taken unilaterally by the Prime Minister’s Workplace (PMO), and the Cupboard and even the minister involved was not consulted, Gandhi claimed. “This reveals that it is a one man’s present, and Narendra Modi ji does what he desires for the advantage of 2-3 billionaires.”

A decision launched by the Congress mentioned that the occasion solemnly vows to guide the MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan from the 5th of January, and it pledges to “collectively wrestle to safe the best to dignity, employment, and honest and well timed compensation as a result of India’s rural staff.”

LIVE: Particular CWC Briefing | Indira Bhawan, New Delhi. https://t.co/FZeqSTMOoe

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 27, 2025

“We’ll defend the demand-based employment mannequin and the autonomy of the gram sabha,” it mentioned. 

The occasion additionally resolved to “oppose by all democratic means doable the try to take away the identify of Mahatma Gandhi from the MGNREGA and convert the rights of staff to a authorities dole”.

The VB-G RAM G Invoice was handed by Parliament within the not too long ago concluded Winter Session amid sturdy protests by the opposition over the removing of Mahatma Gandhi’s identify and the monetary burden being placed on states—altering the Centre-state ratio of the monetary burden from 90:10 to 60:40. 

Furthermore, underneath the brand new legislation, the Centre will determine state-wise normative allocation every monetary yr, and states will bear any extreme expenditure above the normative allocation.

Whereas the federal government makes tall claims of India being the fourth-largest economic system, why does it not have cash to pay the nation’s labourers, Kharge requested, alleging that the federal government desires to grab away the cash meant for staff, and hand it over to Ambani-Adani. 

Not simply the Gandhi household, they hate Mahatma Gandhi too, Kharge mentioned.

He mentioned that underneath the MGNREGA, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had sought to show the directive ideas enshrined within the Structure into rights for the poor. 

In the course of the Covid panemci, the MGNREGA proved to be a saviour for the poor, a number of of whom would have died with out that security internet, he added.

In the course of the pandemic in 2020-21 and 2021-22, the Centre sharply elevated the price range allocations for the MGNREGA to report ranges—practically Rs 1.10 lakh-crore and 96,000 crore, respectively, with a view to meet big demand as rural staff returned to villages amidst lockdowns and job losses in cities. 

In the meantime, Rahul Gandhi added that the choice to repeal MGNREGA is a devastating assault and decimation of Indian labour and the agricultural economic system, which might hurt the Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, basic caste poor, and the minorities.

Your entire Opposition, Gandhi mentioned, will come collectively to struggle this “assault” on the poor.

(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)

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Additionally Learn: Opposition should debate utility, provisions of VB-GRAMG. Look past the identify

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