New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) The Congress party on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Modi government, accusing it of systematically weakening the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA). The party claimed that 27 lakh beneficiaries were deleted from the scheme’s database between October 10 and November 14.
Significantly, the Congress noted that 6 lakh of those deleted were active workers who had utilized the scheme at least once in the past three years.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that this mass deletion is a direct consequence of the recently introduced e-KYC process, which he described as part of the government’s efforts to impose Aadhaar-based digital processes under the pretense of boosting transparency.
Calling it “a systematic attempt to end the MGNREGA,” the Congress party demanded an immediate halt to the mandatory adoption of technologies like ABPS, NMMS and e-KYC, along with an increase in the minimum MGNREGA wage to Rs 400 per day.
The Congress party argued that these Aadhaar-based digital processes risk excluding genuine rural workers, especially those in remote areas with limited digital access.
The Congress has been a vocal critic of the government’s strategy, demanding a minimum MGNREGA wage of Rs 400 per day, significant budget enhancement, and an immediate end to the mandatory use of technologies like ABPS, NMMS, and e-KYC.
