Ravi Saraf
New Delhi, Dec 27 (UNI) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday called for a nationwide mass movement against what he described as the Modi government’s “deliberate and cruel assault” on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), warning that democracy, the Constitution, and the rights of citizens were under “grave threat”.
Delivering his opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Kharge said, “The Modi government has scrapped MGNREGA, leaving crores of poor and vulnerable people helpless. By kicking the poor in the stomach, the government has also stabbed them in the back.”
He termed the decision an insult to Mahatma Gandhi and an attack on the constitutional right to work under Article 41 of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Kharge recalled that landmark welfare legislations such as the Right to Work, Right to Food, Right to Education, and Right to Health were initiated during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, and said he was saddened that the present government had chosen to dismantle one of the most impactful programmes aimed at rural livelihoods.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said privilege and monopoly could never serve the masses, alleging that the Modi government was more concerned with protecting the profits of a handful of big capitalists than the welfare of the poor.
Highlighting the global recognition that MGNREGA has received, Kharge said world leaders and ministers at international forums had praised the scheme, which he described as a visionary initiative that transformed rural India.
He recalled that the programme was launched on February 2, 2006, by Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and went on to become the world’s largest rural employment programme, curbing migration and empowering Dalits, Adivasis, women, and landless labourers.
He alleged, “The Modi government scrapped the law without any study or evaluation, and consulting states or political parties, and imposed a new one, following the same approach used with the three black farm laws.”
Kharge said strong resistance was needed across the country, recalling how Congress-led protests had earlier forced the government to retreat on land acquisition amendments and repeal the farm laws after prolonged farmers’ agitations.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that the government would be compelled to restore MGNREGA, Kharge said the Constitution had taught citizens over the past 76 years that “no dictator could snatch away their rights”.
He stressed that Congress must formulate a “concrete action plan and lead a nationwide mass movement”, as “vulnerable sections of society were looking towards the party in these difficult times”.
On organisational matters, Kharge said the ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’ launched from Belagavi, Karnataka, last year had seen the appointment of new district presidents in nearly 500 districts, with the remaining process to be completed in the next 120 days.
He emphasised the need to make the organisation active, accountable and combative at all levels, especially with Assembly elections due in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in April–May 2026.
Kharge also raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging a conspiracy to curtail democratic rights and accusing the BJP and Election Commission of collusion.
He urged party workers to ensure that the names of poor and vulnerable voters, particularly Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, and minorities, were not deleted or shifted.
Condemning the alleged misuse of central agencies such as the ED, IT, and CBI against opposition leaders, Kharge said the Congress would continue to fight its legal battles, asserting that truth would prevail.
He also expressed concern over recent attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and condemned the BJP for having attempted to disturb communal harmony in India during Christmas celebrations, saying such incidents tarnished the country’s global image.
