Rahul Gandhi Slams MGNREGA Repeal, Calls It an Attack on Federalism and Poor

India

oi-Gaurav Sharma

After
a
Congress
Working
Committee
meeting,
Congress
MP
Rahul
Gandhi
accused
the
Union
government
of
weakening
state
powers
and
dismantling
MGNREGA.
Gandhi
said
recent
decisions
were
a
“direct
assault
on
state
autonomy,
infrastructure
development,
and
the
rights
of
marginalised
communities.”

Addressing
reporters,
the
Leader
of
Opposition
in
the
Lok
Sabha
also
claimed
that
changes
to
the
rural
jobs
scheme
were
pushed
through
entirely
from
the
Prime
Minister’s
Office.
Gandhi
alleged
there
was
no
meaningful
discussion
with
Cabinet
ministers
or
other
stakeholders
before
key
decisions.

Rahul
Gandhi
MGNREGA
criticism
on
centralisation
of
power

Rahul
Gandhi
argued
that
the
central
government
concentrated
authority
over
funds
and
schemes
that
states
earlier
handled.
In
the
press
conference,
Gandhi
described
this
as
an
“attack
on
the
states
of
India” and
linked
the
move
to
wider
centralisation
of
decision-making
in
New
Delhi.

Explaining
the
impact
on
state
governments,
Gandhi
said
core
welfare
schemes
earlier
backed
local
works
and
jobs.
“They
are
simply
taking
away
money
that
belongs
to
the
state,
decision-making
power
that
belongs
to
the
state,” Gandhi
said.
According
to
Gandhi,
this
affected
rural
employment
and
local
infrastructure
projects
supported
through
MGNREGA
funds.

Rahul
Gandhi
MGNREGA
defence
as
development
framework

Gandhi
stressed
that
the
rural
employment
scheme
played
a
much
larger
role
than
wage
support.
Gandhi
said,
“MNREGA
is
just
not
a
work
program.
It
is
a
conceptual
framework,
a
development
framework.”
Gandhi
noted
that
the
scheme
had
drawn
attention
from
several
countries
observing
India’s
rights-based
model.

Gandhi
highlighted
that
Congress
president
Mallikarjun
Kharge
often
referred
to
international
feedback
on
the
programme.
“Kharge
ji
mentioned
that
he
visited
16
countries,
and
every
single
country
where
he
went
appreciated
the
fact
that
our
government
had
come
out
with
an
entirely
new
development
rights-based
concept,”
Gandhi
added.

Gandhi
argued
that
MGNREGA
had
been
created
after
long
debate
on
rights
and
development
within
India.
“This
has
been
destroyed
single-handedly
by
the
Prime
Minister,
without
asking
his
cabinet,
without
studying
the
matter,”
Gandhi
said,
linking
the
issue
to
broader
tensions
between
the
Centre
and
states.