Police deny permission for NREGA activists’ Jantar Mantar protest

The Delhi Police denied permission for a protest planned by the NREGA Sangarsh Morcha, a consortium of civil society groups working with rural workers, at the Jantar Mantar on Friday (December 19, 2025), citing “existing guidelines” that require applications seeking permission for a protest to be filed 10 days ahead.

The group wanted to protest against the repeal of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Nevertheless, the activists and Parliamentarians gathered at the Jantar Mantar for a few minutes on Friday (December 19), in a symbolic gesture to register their dissent. Activists, including economist Jean Dreze, Rajendran Narayanan, and Mukesh, were joined by MPs Sasikanth Senthil of the Congress, S. Murasoli and Thanga Tamil Selvan of the DMK, Bikash Bhattacharya of the CPI(M), and Raja Ram Singh of the CPI(ML) Liberation.

“A 20-year-old law was repealed in two days but to carry out a protest we were told we need to give 10 days’ notice. Article 19 of the Constitution enshrines right to speech, and Article 21 the right to work. They repealed right to work and barricaded protest,” Mr. Narayanan said, pointing out the police personnel at the venue heavily outnumbered the activists. “We have not come here to protest. Our protest stands cancelled since we do not have permission. We have come here only to register our dissent,” he added.

The Viksit Bharat- Guarantee For Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill (VB-G RAM G), which will replace MNREGA, was circulated in the early hours of Monday. Parliament passed the Bill past midnight on Thursday, in a matter of four days. 

‘Bulldozer Bill’

Mr. Drèze, who was one of the key authors of MGNREGA, called the new legislation a “bulldozer Bill”.  All the orders and notifications built under the MNREGA will go, Mr. Drèze said.  “It is a ‘bulldozer Bill’, also in the sense that it has been passed without discussion or even a notification to MPs. This is in stark contrast to the process through which the NREGA had been brought in during 2004-05, when there were extensive consultations for a whole year among the public, worker organisations, National Advisory Council, PMO, Parliament, and a standing committee that was incidentally chaired by BJP MP Kalyan Singh,” he said.

Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil criticised the denial of permission for the protest. “This is in gross violation of the democratic rights of the people, especially in such a serious statute, which affects people en masse,” Mr. Senthil said.  “People don’t have any voice to even raise their concerns in a public place. This is very, very shameful and atrocious,” he said.

CPI(M) MP Bikash Bhattacharya said the right to work has been taken away. ”MGNREGA was a demand-driven scheme, a unique parliamentary law that gave the right to work. That right has been taken away. They want rural people to be at the mercy of bureaucrats,” he said.

On Friday (December 19), the All India Kisan Sabha gave a call to its village units to burn copies of the VB-G RAM G Bill, and protests are being held at the local level in different parts of the country. The Left parties have also called an all-India protest on December 22.