6 months ago
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All India Congress Committee (AICC) wide caput K.C. Venugopal connected Tuesday (January 13, 2026) accused the Centre of undermining the rights of agrarian workers successful the state by replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar-Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025.
He was inaugurating a two-day day-and-night protestation organised by the Congress successful beforehand of Kerala Lok Bhavan, demanding the restoration of MGNREGA successful its archetypal signifier with capable safeguards for labourers. The protestation is portion of the nationwide ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ run launched by the Congress.
Mr. Venugopal alleged that the determination to “dilute” the employment warrant strategy was “part of a larger ideological agenda” of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s imaginativeness of ‘Gram Swaraj’.
“MGNREGA is the astir broad embodiment of Gandhi’s thought of colony self-rule and decentralised governance. By dismantling this law, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar are attempting to destruct Gandhi’s ideas erstwhile again,” helium said.
He added that the strategy is the largest employment programme successful the world. “But done this amendment, the BJP-led Centre is efficaciously snatching distant the people’s close to employment. Earlier, the Centre bore 100% of the wage cost. Now, it has chopped its work to conscionable 60%, forcing States to enarthrosis the remaining 40%.”
He cautioned that the determination would spot a terrible fiscal load connected Kerala, requiring an further ₹2,000 crore from the State treasury.
Mr. Venugopal added that the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) would proceed their agitation until the instrumentality is afloat restored. He expressed assurance that the Centre would yet beryllium forced to retreat the changes, “just arsenic it did with the workplace laws.”
Highlighting the actions taken by Congress-ruled States, helium pointed retired that the Telangana Assembly had convened a peculiar league and unanimously passed a solution to request the restoration of the archetypal MGNREGA Act. Besides, gram sabhas crossed Telangana had adopted resolutions successful enactment of the demand. The Karnataka Assembly was acceptable to clasp an exigency league to sermon the issue.
Calling upon the Kerala authorities to instrumentality a akin stand, Mr. Venugopal urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to convene a peculiar Assembly league with the restoration of MGNREGA arsenic its archetypal agenda.
Responding to the criticisms made by the Chief Minister against Opposition MPs, Mr. Venugopal accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) authorities of “lacking the motivation authority” to question the Opposition, portion allegedly endorsing Centre-backed initiatives “aligned with the RSS agenda” without due consultation.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph, elder Congress person Ramesh Chennithala and respective different UDF leaders participated successful the protest.
