Centre Is Dismantling MGNREGA Law, Alleges Senior Congress Leader Kaul Singh Thakur.
Shimla:
Former Himachal Pradesh minister and senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur has accused the Central government of weakening and gradually dismantling the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Central Government is working against the interests of the poor.
Addressing a press conference in Mandi, Kaul Singh Thakur said that MGNREGA was enacted to guarantee 100 days of employment to rural households, but the proposed new bill removes this assurance. He alleged that the Centre has significantly reduced the budget allocation for MGNREGA and has failed to provide any employment guarantee in the new framework.
“The earlier provision ensured 100 days of guaranteed employment for the rural poor. Now, this guarantee has been taken away, which clearly shows the government’s anti-poor mindset,” he said.
The former minister also criticized the proposed change in funding patterns. He stated that under the new law, large states would be required to contribute 40 percent of the funds while the Centre would provide 60 percent. Earlier, the funding pattern was 10:90, which, according to him, was more supportive of states and beneficiaries. He termed this change as a direct attack on the rights of the poor and an attempt to dilute welfare legislation.
Kaul Singh Thakur demanded that the Centre immediately restore the original MGNREGA provisions and refrain from dismantling laws meant for the welfare of economically weaker sections. He warned that if the government failed to do so, the Congress party would launch protests from the booth level to the national level.
Reiterating the Congress party’s commitment to social justice, he said that the party would continue to fight for the rights of the poor. He also accused the Modi government of favoring big industrialists at the cost of farmers and laborers. “While Congress governments have waived farmers’ loans, the present government has not waived the debt of even a single farmer. Instead, it has waived off thousands of crores of rupees for a few select industrialists,” he alleged.
Present at the press conference were MLA Chandershekhar Thakur, District Congress President Champa Thakur, former minister Prakash Chaudhary, Chet Ram Thakur, Naresh Chauhan, and Mahesh Raj, among others.
The Congress leaders jointly asserted that welfare schemes like MGNREGA are lifelines for rural India and should be strengthened rather than diluted.
