Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has made an emotional appeal championing the MGNREGA, passed by the Manmohan Singh government two decades ago, and said she is committed to “fighting” for it.
The demand-driven, village-based job guarantee law is to be replaced by the VB-G RAM G, a supply-driven scheme that shifts a large chunk of the financial burden to the states.
The government railroaded the new bill, which Sonia has called a “black law”, through both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, overruling an Opposition demand to refer it to a standing committee.
“I still remember, even today, that 20 years ago, when Dr Manmohan Singhji was the Prime Minister, the MGNREGA law was passed in Parliament by consensus,” Sonia said in a video message and printed statement released on Saturday.
Sonia said: “It was such a revolutionary step, the benefits of which reached crores of rural families. In particular, it became a source of livelihood for the deprived, the exploited, the poor, and the extremely poor.
“The compulsion to migrate — leaving behind one’s village, one’s home, and one’s family for employment — came to a halt. A legal right to employment was provided, and along with that, gram panchayats were empowered. Through MGNREGA, a concrete step was taken towards the India of Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Gram Swaraj.”
Multiple studies have over the past two decades shown that the MGNREGA — named after Mahatma Gandhi — reduced short-term rural-to-urban migration and led to an overall increase in wages.
“In the last 11 years, the Modi government has ignored the interests of the unemployed, the poor, and the deprived in rural areas and has made every effort to weaken MGNREGA, even though during Covid it proved to be the only lifeline for the poor,” Sonia said.
“But it is a matter of great regret that, just recently, the government ran a bulldozer over MGNREGA. Not only was Mahatma Gandhi’s name removed, but the form and structure of MGNREGA were arbitrarily changed without any discussion, without consulting anyone, and without taking the Opposition into confidence.”
Arguing that work was no longer guaranteed under the new programme, she said: “Now, who will get how much employment, where, and in what manner will be decided by the government sitting in Delhi, far away from ground realities.
“The Congress had a major role in bringing and implementing MGNREGA, but it was never a party-related matter. It was a scheme connected to the national interest and public interest.
“By weakening this law, the Modi government has attacked the interests of crores of farmers, labourers, and the poor, landless rural population of the country.”
Sonia added: “We are all ready to counter this attack. Twenty years ago, I too fought to secure the right to employment for our poor brothers and sisters; today, as well, I am committed to fighting against this black law."