Congress took to the streets on Friday over the decision to remove MNREGA and many party leaders launched a scathing attack on the Modi government. Congress alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not want this law related to Mahatma Gandhi to last for a long time and people should have the legal right to work.
Congress’s communication in-charge general secretary Jairam Ramesh made these remarks at an event organized at the AICC headquarters to protest against the repeal of MGNREGA.
Senior Congress leaders and workers took out a march from the Congress office at 24, Akbar Road to Gandhi Smriti. The march was in protest against “the taking away of the constitutional right to work by the Modi government”. However, the police stopped them and they could not reach Gandhi Smriti.
Addressing the ‘MGNREGS Bachao Sangram Yatra’ program, Ramesh said, “The Modi government has destroyed the MGNREGS Act by crushing it with bulldozers.” Addressing the gathering, he said, “MGNREGA was a historic and revolutionary Act which was passed unanimously in September 2005. Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh Ji, Sonia Gandhi Ji and Rahul Gandhi Ji had made significant contributions in the formulation of this Act.”
He said, “The MGNREGA law was a constitutional right, which provided a legal guarantee of employment to the people. This law strengthened the panchayats. For the first time, money was delivered to every family through DBT.”
Ramesh alleged, “But this law has been repealed because Narendra Modi does not want this law related to Mahatma Gandhi to continue for long. He does not want people to get their rights.”
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Kheda said that Congress stands strongly against this step taken by the Modi government.
He said, “A government which insults the farmers, laborers and youth of the country cannot remain in power for long. Narendra Modi should understand that his government will have to pay the price for this.”
Ramesh said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) had given the legal right to employment, benefiting lakhs of families, but the central government was “weakening” these provisions.
He said that the VB-G RAMG scheme weakens the basic spirit of MGNREGA of the UPA era.
Addressing the protest, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Dharmendra Yadav said the government’s action indicates a sustained attack on the poor. Congress has launched a 45-day nationwide “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra” campaign demanding repeal of the VB-G Ram Ji Act and restoration of MGNREGA.
“This government is continuously attacking the poor. People who were once guaranteed employment are now having that guarantee taken away. The systems that were meant to help them are slowly being dismantled,” Yadav said.
He said, “We have to take this movement forward because this is not a short fight. This is a long fight. We have to be disciplined for this long struggle, but we also have to work to force this government to bow down.”
The protesters raised slogans of “MNREGA Chor Gaddi Chhod” during the protest.
The central government’s Vikas Bharat Guaranteed Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), was passed by both Houses amid opposition uproar and received Presidential assent in December 2025, effectively replacing MGNREGA after two decades.
Under the new law, the statutory guarantee of employment was increased on paper from 100 days per rural household per year to 125 days, and changes were made in financing patterns, planning mechanisms and implementation structures.
Opposition parties have argued that the new law weakens the rights-based nature of MGNREGA, increases centralization of power and places greater financial responsibilities on the states, which is likely to undermine the fundamental legal right to work.
