Congress launches 45-day campaign to save MGNREGA from VB-G RAM G Act
Congress launches 45-day campaign to save MGNREGA from VB-G RAM G Act
A nationwide campaign aims to restore MGNREGA as a rights-based job guarantee, demanding withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and stronger local governance.
A nationwide agitation has been launched to press for the restoration of MGNREGA in its original form as a rights-based employment guarantee. The Congress says the 45-day campaign, titled MGNREGA Bachao Sangram, is aimed at opposing the replacement of the MGNREGA with the newly enacted VB-G RAM G Act and restoring the program’s core features. The party argues that MGNREGA’s emphasis on guaranteed employment, accountability, and a stronger role for panchayats must be preserved.
District-level press conferences were held at Congress offices across the country as the campaign kicked off, with organizers detailing the plan to mobilize rural and urban voters. As part of the initiative, the Congress has scheduled a sequence of chaupals—local assemblies—to build grassroots support and explain why the government’s new law is viewed as a setback for workers’ rights.
Protests are planned across districts, followed by day-long fasts starting January 11, with further actions slated through January 29. The party leadership, including Jairam Ramesh, has publicly said the agitation will continue until the government agrees to withdraw the VB-G RAM G Act and restore MGNREGA to its original form, ensuring employment, livelihood, and accountability. The campaign stresses that MGNREGA’s rights-based framework empowered local governance and protected vulnerable workers, and argues that replacing it undermines these protections.
Supporters are hopeful that sustained mobilization will pressure authorities to rethink the overhaul and re-center MGNREGA as a robust instrument for rural development and social protection.
