Congress to launch ‘MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan’ from January 5; CWC flags poll strategy, SIR concerns

Senior Congress leaders on Saturday met at an extended session of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to assess the political situation ahead of key multi-state Assembly elections next year and to chart the party’s response to the repeal of the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).The meeting of the party’s highest decision-making body was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and senior leaders including Shashi Tharoor. Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states such as Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, along with Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, were also present.The deliberations come ahead of Assembly elections due next year in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, with leaders discussing electoral strategy, organisational preparedness and political messaging.A major focus of the meeting was the replacement of MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G). The Bill was passed during the recently concluded winter session of Parliament and has since received the assent of President Droupadi Murmu.Addressing the media after the meeting, Kharge said public anger was growing over the repeal of MGNREGA and warned that the government would have to face consequences. Calling the new law a “one-sided decision” taken without consultation, he claimed it would place an additional financial burden on states, as the scheme is now to be funded jointly by the Centre and states in a 60:40 ratio.“In the CWC meeting, we have passed a resolution to start the MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan’ from January 5, 2026,” Kharge announced, adding that the Congress would launch a nationwide protest against the repeal.



Source link