Sonia Gandhi slams Centre over MGNREGA, warns of ‘catastrophic fallout’
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New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Centre, accusing it of systematically dismantling the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and warning that its replacement would have “catastrophic consequences” for India’s rural population.
Her remarks come days after Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Bill, commonly known as the VB-G RAM G Bill, amid strong protests from the Opposition.
In an article published in a leading national daily, Sonia Gandhi argued that MGNREGA, enacted in 2005 under the United Progressive Alliance as a rights-based law guaranteeing the constitutional right to work, was being effectively scrapped “without discussion, consultation or respect for parliamentary processes”.
“The removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name is only the tip of the iceberg,” she wrote, describing it as symbolic of a “deeper structural annihilation” of what she termed the world’s largest social security programme.
Sonia Gandhi said the attempt to weaken MGNREGA did not occur overnight, alleging that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had followed a “death by a thousand cuts” strategy over the years. She claimed the scheme had been hollowed out through stagnant budget allocations, delayed wage payments and what she described as “disenfranchising technology”, leaving it increasingly ineffective at the grassroots.
The Congress and other Opposition parties had demanded that the Bill be referred to a standing committee and later sought its withdrawal. Despite these objections, the legislation was passed by both Houses of Parliament after Opposition Members staged a walkout. The Bill subsequently received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent and became law on Sunday.
According to Sonia Gandhi, the new Act replaces a statutory employment guarantee with what she called a “bureaucratic, discretionary programme”, fundamentally altering the nature of rural employment support.
She argued that the shift from demand-driven, uncapped employment to fixed budget caps determined by the Union government strikes at the core of MGNREGA’s original promise.
Highlighting specific provisions, she said the new law effectively ends year-round employment, introduces up to 60 “no-work” days during the peak agricultural season, and significantly increases the states’ funding contribution from 10 per cent to 40 per cent.
“By transferring a substantial portion of the financial burden onto the states, the Modi government is discouraging implementation,” she said, warning that already strained state finances would be “further devastated”.
Accusing the Centre of excessive centralisation, Sonia Gandhi said the new framework sidelines gram sabhas and panchayats, replacing decentralised planning with a top-down approach aligned with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.
“This is centralisation with a vengeance,” she wrote.
Rejecting the government’s claim that the revamped scheme would guarantee up to 125 days of employment, she described the promise as “misleading and unachievable”.
Sonia Gandhi also underscored MGNREGA’s role in supporting rural wages, preventing distress migration and strengthening local self-governance, noting that during the Covid-19 pandemic it remained one of the few mechanisms through which assistance reached the poorest households.
“The demolition of the right to work must not be seen in isolation,” she wrote, linking it to what she described as a broader assault on rights-based legislation, including laws related to information, education, forest rights and land acquisition.
“MGNREGA realised Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Sarvodaya, or welfare for all, and gave effect to the constitutional right to work. Its death is our collective moral failure — one that will have financial and human consequences for crores of India’s working people for years to come. It is imperative, now more than ever, to unite and safeguard the rights that protect us all,” she added.
Meanwhile, following President Murmu’s assent to the VB-G RAM G Bill, the legislation has formally come into force. In response, Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan issued a detailed statement outlining the features of the Viksit Bharat: G Ram G Act and countering what he termed misconceptions surrounding the new law.
The Union Minister alleged that there was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public in the name of MGNREGA. “Rumours are being spread, whereas the truth is that the Viksit Bharat: G Ram G Yojana is a progressive step forward from MGNREGA,” he said.
Chouhan asserted that the new programme provides a statutory guarantee of 125 days of employment, an increase from the earlier 100 days.
He further stated that provisions for unemployment allowance in cases where work is not available have been strengthened, and that delays in wage payments will now attract additional compensation.
“These changes enhance both coverage and accountability,” the Union Minister said, maintaining that the revamped law represents an improvement over the previous framework.
With IANS inputs