Sonia Gandhi: We will take to the streets against the bulldozing of MNREGA
The Sunday Mail
New Delhi: Former Congress President and CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for opposing the changes to the MNREGA law. In a video message, Sonia Gandhi said that the Congress party will take to the streets against the Modi government over the changes to this law. Sonia Gandhi said that she still remembers that 20 years ago, when Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, the MNREGA law was passed in Parliament with a consensus. It was a revolutionary step that benefited millions of rural families. It became a source of livelihood, especially for the underprivileged, exploited, poor, and extremely poor people.
It stopped migration from their own land, their own village, and their own home and family in search of employment. A legal right to employment was given, and at the same time, Gram Panchayats were empowered. Through MNREGA, a concrete step was taken towards Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Gram Swaraj in India. In the last 11 years, the Modi government has tried every possible way to weaken MNREGA by ignoring the interests of the unemployed, poor, and underprivileged in rural areas, even though it proved to be a lifeline for this poor section during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it is very unfortunate that recently the government has bulldozed MNREGA. Not only has Mahatma Gandhi’s name been removed, but the form and structure of MNREGA have been arbitrarily changed without any discussion, without consulting anyone, and without taking the opposition into confidence. Now, who will get how much employment, where, and in what way, will be decided by the government sitting in Delhi, far removed from the ground reality.
The Congress had a major contribution in bringing and implementing MNREGA, but it was never a party-related matter. It was a scheme related to national interest and public interest. By weakening this law, the Modi government has attacked the interests of crores of farmers, laborers, and landless rural poor of the country.
We are all ready to fight against this attack. Twenty years ago, I fought to secure the right to employment for my poor brothers and sisters, and today I remain committed to fighting against this unjust law. All Congress leaders and millions of workers, like me, stand with you.
