The Congress on Monday accused the government of deleting nearly 27 lakh workers' names from the MGNREGA database between October 10 and November 14, calling it not an isolated move but a “systematic attempt to end” the rural jobs scheme.
The party renewed demands for a minimum wage of Rs 400 a day and a halt to mandatory use of technologies such as the Aadhaar-Based Payment System, the National Mobile Monitoring System and e-KYC.
Citing a media report on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the deletions far exceeded the 10.5 lakh additions in the same period. “Another day, another attempt to deny India’s rural poor their legislative right to employment… the Modi Government has deleted 27 lakh names… Six lakh of these beneficiaries were active workers,” he wrote, adding that the mass removal coincided with the rollout of the “e-KYC” process.
"The Modi government's crimes against this landmark legislation include the introduction of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app and the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS), which have prevented an estimated 2 crore workers from securing their legal right to work and payment," he said.
Ramesh further said the Congress' demands have been consistent and include significant budget enhancement and stricter implementation of the policy on timely payment of wages.
The Congress has demanded that a minimum MGNREGA wage of Rs 400 per day to kickstart real income growth, he said.
Ramesh said the Congress has also demanded the constitution of a Standing Committee to set MGNREGA wages in the future and an immediate halt to the mandatory adoption of exclusionary technology like ABPS, NMMS, and e-KYC.
