Congress leader K.C. Venugopal said that the Congress Working Committee would deliberate on the future course of action at its meeting on December 27. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Congress continued its attack on the Union Government for “dismantling” and “desecrating” the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The party held nationwide protests on Sunday (December 21, 2025) at all district headquarters.
Party general Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal, in a post on X, said the Modi government had effectively dismantled the MGNREGA by converting it from a right to a favour.
“MGNREGA was a legal right to work, not a welfare handout. By capping funds, centralising control, and altering its demand-driven nature, the BJP has turned this right into a budget-dependent scheme, pushing crores of rural families into insecurity and distress,” he said.
Mr. Venugopal added that the Congress Working Committee would deliberate on the future course of action at its meeting on December 27.
“Subsequently, on December 28 — our Foundation Day — Congress workers will hold programmes in mandals and panchayats across India, carrying portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, reaffirming our commitment to his ideals and to the constitutional promise of justice, dignity, and the right to work,” he said.
Party General Secretary (Communication) and former Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh accused the government of overturning two decades of progress “without consultation” and by “sidestepping parliamentary conventions”. He shared a 2012 review document of the scheme released by the UPA government, highlighting achievements such as increased rural wages, reduced distress migration, cultivation of barren land, and empowerment of weaker sections.
Parliament on Thursday (December 18, 2025) passed the VB-G Ram G Bill, which replaced the 20-year-old MGNREGA.
Published – December 21, 2025 08:47 pm IST
