5 months ago
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The Delhi Police denied support for a protestation planned by the NREGA Sangarsh Morcha, a consortium of civilian nine groups moving with agrarian workers, astatine the Jantar Mantar connected Friday (December 19, 2025), citing “existing guidelines” that necessitate applications seeking support for a protestation to beryllium filed 10 days ahead.
The radical wanted to protestation against the repeal of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Nevertheless, the activists and Parliamentarians gathered astatine the Jantar Mantar for a fewer minutes connected Friday (December 19), successful a symbolic motion to registry their dissent. Activists, including economist Jean Dreze, Rajendran Narayanan, and Mukesh, were joined by MPs Sasikanth Senthil of the Congress, S. Murasoli and Thanga Tamil Selvan of the DMK, Bikash Bhattacharya of the CPI(M), and Raja Ram Singh of the CPI(ML) Liberation.
“A 20-year-old instrumentality was repealed successful 2 days but to transportation retired a protestation we were told we request to springiness 10 days’ notice. Article 19 of the Constitution enshrines close to speech, and Article 21 the close to work. They repealed close to enactment and barricaded protest,” Mr. Narayanan said, pointing retired the constabulary unit astatine the venue heavy outnumbered the activists. “We person not travel present to protest. Our protestation stands cancelled since we bash not person permission. We person travel present lone to registry our dissent,” helium added.
The Viksit Bharat- Guarantee For Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill (VB-G RAM G), which volition regenerate MNREGA, was circulated successful the aboriginal hours of Monday. Parliament passed the Bill past midnight connected Thursday, successful a substance of 4 days.
‘Bulldozer Bill’
Mr. Drèze, who was 1 of the cardinal authors of MGNREGA, called the caller authorities a “bulldozer Bill”. All the orders and notifications built nether the MNREGA volition go, Mr. Drèze said. “It is simply a ‘bulldozer Bill’, besides successful the consciousness that it has been passed without treatment oregon adjacent a notification to MPs. This is successful stark opposition to the process done which the NREGA had been brought successful during 2004-05, erstwhile determination were extended consultations for a full twelvemonth among the public, idiosyncratic organisations, National Advisory Council, PMO, Parliament, and a lasting committee that was incidentally chaired by BJP MP Kalyan Singh,” helium said.
Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil criticised the denial of support for the protest. “This is successful gross usurpation of the antiauthoritarian rights of the people, particularly successful specified a superior statute, which affects radical en masse,” Mr. Senthil said. “People don’t person immoderate dependable to adjacent rise their concerns successful a nationalist place. This is very, precise shameful and atrocious,” helium said.
CPI(M) MP Bikash Bhattacharya said the close to enactment has been taken away. ”MGNREGA was a demand-driven scheme, a unsocial parliamentary instrumentality that gave the close to work. That close has been taken away. They privation agrarian radical to beryllium astatine the mercy of bureaucrats,” helium said.
On Friday (December 19), the All India Kisan Sabha gave a telephone to its colony units to pain copies of the VB-G RAM G Bill, and protests are being held astatine the section level successful antithetic parts of the country. The Left parties person besides called an all-India protestation connected December 22.
