Sonia Gandhi Calls MGNREGA Repeal A ‘Black Law’, Vows Congress Resistance

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday accused the Modi government of effectively bulldozing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and asserted that any "black law" aimed at repealing the scheme would be defied by lakhs of Congress workers.

In a video message, Gandhi said that by weakening MGNREGA, the Modi government had struck at the interests of crores of farmers, labourers and landless people across the country. She alleged that over the last 11 years, the Centre had consistently ignored the concerns of the rural poor.

Recalling the passage of the MGNREGA Act 20 years ago during the tenure of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Gandhi said the law was adopted by Parliament through consensus. She described it as a "revolutionary step" that provided a crucial means of livelihood for the deprived, the exploited and the poorest sections of society.

According to her, MGNREGA helped curb migration in search of work, guaranteed a legal right to employment and strengthened gram panchayats. She said the scheme represented a concrete move towards realising Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj and an India rooted in village self-governance.

Expressing regret over recent developments, Gandhi alleged that the government had "run a bulldozer" over MGNREGA. She claimed that Mahatma Gandhi's name was removed and that the scheme's form and structure were altered arbitrarily, without any discussion, consultation or confidence-building with the opposition.

Sonia Gandhi reiterated that the Congress would continue to oppose any attempt to dismantle MGNREGA and vowed to fight what she termed a "black law" targeting one of the country's most significant social welfare programmes.