The Indian National Congress has launched a grassroots campaign to oppose the central government's newly enacted legislation that replaces the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The party has instructed its state units and workers to actively participate in special village assembly meetings starting Friday to counter the government's narrative.
Congress Directive: A Call to Action in Villages
Through an instruction issued by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, the party has asked its workers to mobilize in large numbers for the gram sabha meetings convened by the central government. The government aims to spread awareness about the new "VB-G Ram G Act," which will supersede MGNREGA. However, the Congress views these meetings as a platform for "misinformation."
The party directive urges workers to calmly present to villagers the core contention that the new law transforms the "right to work" into a budget-controlled scheme. They are to argue that this move effectively ends the demand-driven nature of the two-decade-old programme, which has been a lifeline for poor and marginalized communities.
The Government's Outreach and the Political Clash
This mobilization comes in the wake of opposition attacks and protest threats following the disbanding of MGNREGA. The Union Ministries of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, led by Secretaries Sailesh Kumar Singh and Vivek Bharadwaj, have written to states to convene gram sabhas on Friday. The stated objective is to disseminate the salient features of the new law, especially among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe households and women.
The political battle lines are sharply drawn. The new law was introduced suddenly in Parliament during the recently concluded winter session and passed after a heated debate. The opposition, led vocally by Congress, staunchly defended MGNREGA while accusing the government of using the new scheme to push the budgetary burden onto states.
Strategic Mobilization and Future Plans
The Congress has called for the mobilization of party workers, elected representatives, and frontal organizations. The clear direction is to wholeheartedly participate in the gram sabhas to debunk the government's claims. The workers are tasked with explaining how the new law strips away the poor-friendly provisions of the old MGNREGA.
The issue is set to be a key agenda item at the upcoming Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday. The party is likely to discuss the job scheme extensively and may even formulate a formal protest plan. This aligns with Rahul Gandhi's stated determination to force the government to withdraw the new law.
The stage is now set for a direct ideological and logistical clash between the ruling dispensation and the principal opposition party in the heart of rural India, with the future of rural employment guarantees hanging in the balance.
