Modi govt pushing India back to Maharajas’ era’: Rahul
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, has slammed the Modi government’s move to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), saying it’s an attempt to push the country back to the era of “maharajas” where power is concentrated in the hands of a few.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Gandhi alleges the government’s intention is to strip workers of their right to negotiate wages, weaken panchayats, and centralize power in Delhi.
The MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, guarantees rural households 100 days of wage employment annually. The new Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G Act, critics argue, dilutes this right and shifts the financial burden to states.
Gandhi’s criticism comes as the Congress party launches a nationwide campaign, “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram,” to protest the repeal. MGNREGA workers say the law changed their lives, providing livelihood security, but the government is now “enslaving workers”.
