Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Indira Bhawan here—the first since the party's recent electoral setback in Bihar—Kharge described the repeal of MGNREGA as an "insult" to Mahatma Gandhi and a severe blow to the rural poor. He called it a "kick in the stomach" for millions who rely on the scheme as a lifeline.
Senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Shashi Tharoor, attended the session. Chief ministers from Congress-ruled states like Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh, along with state unit presidents, were also present. Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of the deliberations.
Kharge drew parallels with the 2021 farm laws repeal, noting how sustained protests forced the government to back down. "We stood with farmers then, and the Prime Minister had to withdraw those laws," he said. He predicted similar pressure could restore MGNREGA.
The VB-G RAM G Act, passed in Parliament's winter session and assented by President Droupadi Murmu last week, raises guaranteed wage employment from 100 to 125 days per rural household for unskilled manual work. However, it shifts funding to a 60:40 Centre-state ratio, unlike MGNREGA's near-full central funding.
Critics in the opposition argue this burdens states financially and dilutes the demand-driven nature of the original scheme, while removing Gandhi's name dishonors his legacy.
Kharge also directed workers to conduct door-to-door drives to protect vulnerable voters from alleged deletions in electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision.
The CWC is expected to finalize a detailed action plan, signaling intensified opposition efforts in the coming months.
