Modi opposed MGNREGA as it was associated with the Mahatma: Congress

The Congress on Friday (January 30, 2026) stepped up its attack on the Union government over the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not want a law associated with Mahatma Gandhi to endure or guarantee people a legal right to work.

The charge was made by Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh at a protest held at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office. Senior party leaders and workers had taken out a march from 24, Akbar Road, towards Gandhi Smriti, protesting what they described as the “constitutional right to work being snatched away by the Modi government”. The march, however, was stopped by the Delhi Police before it could reached its destination.

Addressing the gathering during the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra’, Mr. Ramesh said, “The Modi government has scrapped the MGNREGA by running a bulldozer over it.” Describing the law as “historic and revolutionary”, he said it was passed unanimously in September 2005, with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi playing key roles in its formulation.

“MGNREGA was a constitutional right, providing a legal guarantee of employment to the people. This law strengthened panchayats. For the first time, money was delivered to every family through DBT [direct benefit transfer],” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “But this law has been scrapped because Narendra Modi does not want this law, connected with Mahatma Gandhi ji, to continue for long. He does not want people to get their rights.”

Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the party was firmly resisting the move. “A government that insults the country’s farmers, labourers, and youth cannot remain in power for long. Narendra Modi should understand that his government will have to pay the price for this,” he said.

Rights-based framework

Mr. Ramesh further argued that while the MGNREGA had benefited lakhs of families by conferring a legal right to employment, its provisions were now being “eroded”. The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) scheme, he said, diluted the “original spirit” of the UPA-era legislation.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav described the repeal as part of a “continuous attack on the poor”.

The Union government’s Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, passed in December, replaced the MGNREGA, a move the Opposition says weakens the rights-based framework of the earlier law.