CONGRESS' SAVE-MGNREGA STIR TO LAST FOR 45 DAYS

Congress claims VB G RAM G Bill, which replaces MGNREGA, opens door to underpayment and wage suppression, pushing workers further into poverty.

- ANAND SINGH

Congress on Saturday said replacing of MGNREGA with VB GRAM G Bill is like 'Vinash Bharat' instead of 'Viksit Bharat, and announced a 45-day 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' from January 10 demanding the restoration of UPA-era rural job guarantee law and said it will explore 'all options', including its non-implementation in Opposition-ruled states.

Addressing a press conference here at the party headquarters, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal announced that the party till launch the MGNREGA Sangram from January 10.

He said, "During the Congress Working Committee meeting on December 27, it was decided to launch the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram throughout the country. Basically, the design of the new law (VB GRAM G) is very clear -- to kill MGNREGA, which is one of the best demand-driven poverty alleviation schemes of this country and is internationally renowned."

He pointed out that every year, five to six crore rural families work in their villages under MGNREGA and said that during crisis periods, the scheme becomes the strongest safety net for poor people. "Now, under the VB GRAM G, employment is no longer a right," he alleged.

He said that now work will be provided only in panchayats notified by the central government. "If a panchayat is not selected, people there have no entitlement to work, regardless of poverty or distress," he said.

"This converts a constitutional promise into a government permission," Venugopal alleged.

He said that the MGNREGA was demand-driven while VB GRAM G introduces a budget cap and normative allocations."Once funds are exhausted, work is stopped, no matter how desperate families are. This silently kills the legal right to work," he said.

The Congress leader also asserted that the MGNREGA was one of the most decentralised schemes.