Raebareli: Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday mounted a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi-led government over the replacement of MGNREGA with a new law, alleging that the Centre has dismantled a crucial safety net for the rural poor and shifted greater control to the bureaucracy.
Addressing mediapersons during his two-day visit to Raebareli, Rahul Gandhi said the original employment guarantee scheme was meant to ensure work, income and dignity for unemployed rural citizens, but the new law weakened that assurance in the name of reform.
“MGNREGA was designed to protect the poorest and guarantee them work. This government wants to centralise power and hand it over to the bureaucracy. By replacing MGNREGA, it is removing the protective shield of the poor,” he said.
The Congress MP alleged that the new legislation strips away key safeguards built into the employment guarantee framework and dilutes the spirit of a rights-based welfare programme. He also criticised the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the Act, calling it an insult to the legacy and philosophy on which the scheme was founded.
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Alongside the attack, the Congress formally launched a nationwide “Save MGNREGA” campaign, aimed at mobilising public opinion against the changes and projecting them as an assault on rural employment rights.
Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day tour of his parliamentary constituency. Earlier in the day, he inaugurated the Raebareli Premier League organised by the Youth Sports Academy at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium. He later addressed a public meeting focused on opposition to the scrapping of MGNREGA and inaugurated development works undertaken under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Rai said the party is preparing a statewide agitation against the new law. He announced that the Congress will organise 30 mahapanchayats across Uttar Pradesh to mobilise people and build pressure on the government to withdraw what the party terms “anti-poor” changes.
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Party leaders said the campaign will concentrate on rural belts, where MGNREGA has long served as a vital source of livelihood, particularly during periods of unemployment and agrarian distress.
