MGNREGA row: Congress calls for nationwide protests, targets BJP-RSS

The Indian National Congress has announced nationwide protests on December 17 against the Centre's move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), accusing the BJP and RSS of attempting to dismantle a rights-based welfare law and replace it with centrally controlled charity.

- TDG NETWORK

In a directive to its Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs), the party said protests would be held at all district headquarters, with demonstrators carrying portraits of Mahatma Gandhi to symbolise resistance to what it described as the erasure of his name and values. The Congress said the proposed law would adversely affect crores of beneficiaries dependent on the rural employment scheme.

"This combined attack on Gandhiji’s legacy, workers’ rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare,” the party said in a post on X, adding that the protests would highlight how the new law could undermine rural livelihoods.