NEW DELHI: Congress is joining the fight for MGNREGA right at the first step. The party has asked its workers to participate in greater numbers in gram sabha meetings that the central govt has called from Friday to spread “awareness” about the new “VB-G Ram G Act” that will replace MGNREGA, and to calmly counter the govt’s “misinformation” about the new law.Through an instruction by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal to state units, it has asked workers to lay before villagers the fact that the new law has essentially turned the “right to work” into a budget-controlled scheme and practically ended the demand-driven programme that had become a lifeline of the poor and marginalised communities over 20 years. The Congress directive has called the special village assembly meetings as a “platform to mislead rural workers and beneficiaries by projecting the new legislation as pro-poor”.In the wake of the opposition’s attacks over the disbanding of MGNREGA and threats of protests, the union ministries of rural development and panchayati raj led by secretaries Sailesh Kumar Singh and Vivek Bharadwaj have written to the states to convene gram sabhas on Friday to disseminate the salient features of the new law among villagers, especially SC/ST households and women.The opposition and the Modi govt have cross swords over the new law, which was suddenly brought in Parliament during the recently concluded winter session, and passed with a debate that saw the two sides wrangle over the finer points of the law. The opposition full-throatedly backed MGNREGA while slamming the new scheme as a govt bid to push the budgetary burden on the states.Congress has asked the states for mobilisation of workers, elected representatives and frontal organisations, with the direction that they should wholeheartedly participate in the gram sabhas and debunk the “misinformation” by the govt, while explaining how the new law takes away the poor friendly provisions of MGNREGA.In the upcoming CWC meeting on Saturday, Congress is likely to discuss the job scheme and may even draw up a protest plan for what Rahul Gandhi has called the party’s determination to force the govt to take back the new law.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosBangladesh Unrest: Another Hindu Man Lynched; Police Claim Extortion Bid‘Hurt Hindu Sentiments’: Bajrang Dal Protests Outside Bareilly Church, Video Viral‘Bit Late but Strong’: Amit Shah Highlights India’s Semiconductor Industry Growth‘One Family Rule’: PM Modi Slams Congress at Prerna Sthal InaugurationBNP Chairman Tarique Rahman Makes Grand Comeback To Bangladesh, Evokes Martin Luther King In SpeechMajor anti-Naxal success: Rs 1.2-crore bounty Maoist Ganesh Uike among four gunned down in Odisha’Every Indian Is Assaulted When…’: Shashi Tharoor Slams Attacks On Christmas Celebrations In IndiaNitin Gadkari Reveals Shocking Experience of Meeting Hamas Leader Before His Assassination in Iran’You’ll Know Me Now’: Gunman’s Chilling Threat Before Killing AMU Teacher Inside Campus In UPWhy Tarique Rahman’s Return To Dhaka After 17 Years Could Reshape Bangladesh Politics After Hasina123Photostories8 plants that attract birds in your balconyBaby names inspired by Christmas joy5 most unreal animals on the planetAvoid making these 5 worst sleep mistakesWhat happens when you practice ‘sideways walking’How to take calcium and magnesium supplements for maximum absorption and why taking them together may not be idealExclusive – From facing blame for breaking the team to claiming Shubhangi Atre copied her Angoori; Shilpa Shinde on Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hai, comeback, and comparisonsNew parents of 2025: Chris Evans-Alba Baptista to Millie Bobby Brown-Jake BongioviPost-festive detox: Simple ways to detox your body with turmericWhy South India is the ultimate January escape: 10 places to prove it!123Hot PicksUAE WeatherPAN-Aadhaar linkingKarbi Anglong CurfewGold rate todayIncome Tax RefundPublic Holidays DecemberBank Holidays DecemberTop TrendingTaylor SwiftPaul RuddPatrick MahomesMegan Thee Stallion Net Worth 2025Travis KelceJoel EmbiidSavannah James Net WorthSophie CunninghamDrew McIntyre and Kaitlyn Frohnapfel Net WorthKhamzat Chimaev
NEW DELHI: Congress is joining the fight for MGNREGA right at the first step. The party has asked its workers to participate in greater numbers in gram sabha meetings that the central govt has called from Friday to spread “awareness” about the new “VB-G Ram G Act” that will replace MGNREGA, and to calmly counter the govt’s “misinformation” about the new law.Through an instruction by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal to state units, it has asked workers to lay before villagers the fact that the new law has essentially turned the “right to work” into a budget-controlled scheme and practically ended the demand-driven programme that had become a lifeline of the poor and marginalised communities over 20 years. The Congress directive has called the special village assembly meetings as a “platform to mislead rural workers and beneficiaries by projecting the new legislation as pro-poor”.In the wake of the opposition’s attacks over the disbanding of MGNREGA and threats of protests, the union ministries of rural development and panchayati raj led by secretaries Sailesh Kumar Singh and Vivek Bharadwaj have written to the states to convene gram sabhas on Friday to disseminate the salient features of the new law among villagers, especially SC/ST households and women.The opposition and the Modi govt have cross swords over the new law, which was suddenly brought in Parliament during the recently concluded winter session, and passed with a debate that saw the two sides wrangle over the finer points of the law. The opposition full-throatedly backed MGNREGA while slamming the new scheme as a govt bid to push the budgetary burden on the states.Congress has asked the states for mobilisation of workers, elected representatives and frontal organisations, with the direction that they should wholeheartedly participate in the gram sabhas and debunk the “misinformation” by the govt, while explaining how the new law takes away the poor friendly provisions of MGNREGA.In the upcoming CWC meeting on Saturday, Congress is likely to discuss the job scheme and may even draw up a protest plan for what Rahul Gandhi has called the party’s determination to force the govt to take back the new law.
