Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 21 : Congress Senior leader V Hanumantha Rao, on Wednesday, backed the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Centre's decision to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Rao alleged that the new act to ensure livelihoods has not just received a name change but was aimed at benefiting big industrialists while punishing poor people with hunger and unemployment.
Speaking to ANI, Rao said the introduction of the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G-Ram-G) act in place of MGNREGA reflected the government's intention to weaken food security and day-to-day livelihood support for rural people.
"By repealing MGNREGA and introducing a new law, VB-G RAM G, their interest is in the suffering of the poor. They only want to help big industrialists. Every person should fight against this law," Rao said.
He termed the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the act an insult to his contribution to the freedom struggle. "What did Gandhi do wrong? He brought freedom to this country and was responsible for the British leaving India. What was the problem in attaching his name to the act?" he asked.
Rao said the issue went beyond a mere name change and accused the government of systematically weakening the employment guarantee programme. "The name change is just an excuse. The real aim is to benefit the big industrialists and make poor people suffer," he alleged, calling for protests against the move.
Higlighting the changes in funding patterns, the Congress leader said that during the UPA government's tenure, the Centre bore 100 per cent of the act implementation cost, which has now been reduced to 60 per cent, with states required to contribute the remaining 40 per cent.
The Congress leader also alleged that the autonomy of Gram Panchayats had been curtailed. "Earlier, Gram Panchayats decided what work was required-road construction, farming-related work or building schools. Now the Central government will decide the work by sending instructions from themselves", Rao said.
Calling the move undemocratic, he said that it went against the spirit of Gram Swaraj. "This is not Gram Swaraj. In real Gram Swaraj, villages have autonomy, which has been seized by the BJP and RSS through the introduction of the Act", he alleged.
His remarks came amid nationwide protests led by the Congress against the repeal of MGNREGA, a program aimed at providing minimum-wage employment and financial protection to rural citizens.
Recently, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the repeal of the MGNREGA Act, accusing him of prioritising the bureaucrats over the poor.
Speaking to the media on the repeal of MGNREGA, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to "centralise power, hand it over to bureaucracy, and leave the poor citizens to starve."
"MGNREGA's aim was to take financial responsibilty and provide minimum wage to the unemployed rural citizens. PM Narendra Modi does not want that; he wants to centralise power and hand it over to bureaucracy and leave the poor citizens to starve. The protection cover of the poor has been removed with the reformation of the act. Congress, thus, is conducting a nationwide MGNREGA Bachao campaign....PM wants the entire contry's economy to be handed over to Ambani and Adani while we are trying to help the poor," he accused.
The VB-G RAM G Act was passed in the Winter Session of the Parliament in 2025, and replaces the 100-day employment guarantee with a 125-day guarantee. However, the Opposition has criticised the legislation for removing Mahatma Gandhi's name and a 60:40 share of funds between the Centre and states.