DMK to hold statewide protests over unpaid MGNREGA dues

Chennai: The DMK, led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, has announced a massive protest against the central government over unpaid wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The party is pushing for the immediate release of Rs 4,034 crore in overdue payments.

In a letter on Thursday, Stalin urged party members to mobilise MGNREGA beneficiaries for a statewide protest. The demonstrations will be held in two locations within every union across the state.

He claimed that despite repeated appeals to the Union government, including letters and representations in both houses of Parliament, their demands have been ignored.

"We wrote a letter requesting funds to pay salaries to the poor and needy working under the 100-day work programme; we met in person to insist; and we presented it in both houses of Parliament," Stalin posted on X.

"Even after all this, the Union government's heart of stone has not melted…!" he added, calling upon rural workers to join the agitation on March 29 against what he described as the "exploitation of labour" by the BJP-led government at the Centre.

The MGNREGA was introduced in 2005 to provide a safety net for rural households. It guarantees at least 100 days of paid, unskilled manual work per year for adult members of eligible rural households who volunteer. This scheme has been a contentious issue between the Opposition and the Centre, with concerns surrounding funding cuts and delayed payments being major points of conflict.

The broader INDIA bloc has consistently raised this issue in Parliament. Recently, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Kerala opposition leaders staged a protest on Parliament premises, highlighting the plight of MGNREGA workers.

Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, expressed concerns in the Rajya Sabha that the government is intentionally undermining the scheme by slashing financial support.

"The budget allocation for MGNREGA has remained stagnant at Rs 86,000 crore, but in reality, it has decreased by Rs 4,000 crore," she said, adding that nearly 20 per cent of the current allocation would be used to clear previous dues.

With protests gaining momentum, the DMK's agitation is expected to add further pressure on the Centre to address the issue of pending wages under one of India's most crucial rural employment schemes.

(inputs from IANS)