Chennai, March 29 The DMK, led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, has announced a large-scale agitation against the Central government over the non-release of pending wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The party is demanding the immediate disbursal of Rs 4,034 crore in overdue payments.
In a letter on Thursday, CM Stalin urged party members to mobilise MGNREGA beneficiaries for the protest, which will take place at two locations in every union across the state.
He claimed that despite repeated appeals to the Union government, including letters and representations in both houses of Parliament, their demands have been ignored.
"We wrote a letter requesting funds to pay salaries to the poor and needy working under the 100-day work program; we met in person to insist; and we presented it in both houses of Parliament," Stalin posted on X.
"Even after all this, the Union government's heart of stone has not melted..!" he added, calling upon rural workers to join the agitation on March 29 against what he described as the "exploitation of labour" by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The MGNREGA, introduced in 2005, guarantees at least 100 days of paid work each year for rural households whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual labour. The scheme has been a frequent flashpoint between the Opposition and the Centre, with concerns over funding cuts and delayed payments.
The broader INDIA bloc has consistently raised this issue in Parliament. Recently, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Kerala Opposition leaders staged a protest on Parliament premises, highlighting the plight of MGNREGA workers.
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi also voiced concerns in the Rajya Sabha, accusing the government of deliberately weakening the scheme by reducing financial support.
"The budget allocation for MGNREGA has remained stagnant at Rs 86,000 crore, but in reality, it has decreased by Rs 4,000 crore," she said, adding that nearly 20 per cent of the current allocation would be used to clear previous dues.
With protests gaining momentum, the DMK's agitation is expected to add further pressure on the Centre to address the issue of pending wages under one of India's most crucial rural employment schemes.
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