Members of Left parties, including the CPI, CPI(M) and SUCI(C), staging a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Opposing the BJP-led Union government’s move to alter the erstwhile Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), members of Left parties, including the CPI, CPI(M) and SUCI(C), staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on Monday.
Addressing the protestors, CPI(M) district secretary K. Neela said that the erstwhile MGNREGA was implemented during the UPA regime following sustained pressure from Left parties. It was conceived as a universal, demand-driven law guaranteeing a limited but legally enforceable right to work.
She said that the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act 2025, which has replaced MGNREGA, will fundamentally dilute this right and deny rural workers their entitlements.
Ms. Neela said that the new law will free the Centre from its obligation to provide funds based on demand for work. She dismissed the Central government’s claim that it will increase guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days as a hollow promise.
She said that the rationalisation of job cards will push large sections of rural households out of the scheme.
She further said that suspending employment for up to 60 days during peak agricultural season will deprive rural workers of work when it is most needed, forcing them to depend on landlords.
Changes in the funding pattern will shift the financial burden onto State governments while denying them any role in decision-making, including making them bear the cost of unemployment allowance and compensation for delay in payments.
“These changes are aimed at shrinking the scope of the scheme and weakening the accountability of the Union government,” she claimed.
Renaming MGNREGA as G RAM G amounts to an insult to Mahatma Gandhi and reflects the BJP-RSS’ hostility towards his legacy, she said.
The Left parties demanded the immediate withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and urged the Central government to strengthen the MGNREGA ensuring adequate budgetary allocation to guarantee at least 200 days of employment.
CPI State Council member Moula Mulla, district secretary Mahesh Rathod, executive council member Bheemashankar Madiyal, SUCI(C) secretary Veerabhadra and activists Meenakshi Bali, Prabhudev Yelasanghi, S.M. Sharma, Mahesh S. Sudhama Dhanni, Lavitra Vastrad and others participated in the protest.
Published – December 22, 2025 07:19 pm IST
