Chandigarh, Feb 25 The Haryana Congress on Wednesday staged a protest here against the BJP government over the alleged renaming and dilution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), accusing it of attempting to weaken social security provisions meant for the poorest sections.
The Congress alleged that the BJP government is deliberately trying to weaken the social security framework provided to economically vulnerable sections through MGNREGA.
Party in-charge B.K. Hariprasad, former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, state President Rao Narender Singh, former state President Chaudhary Udaybhan, MPs Deepender Singh Hooda, Jai Prakash (JP), Varun Mulana, Satpal Brahmachari, and Jitendra Baghel, along with senior leaders and party workers, participated in the protest.
Party leaders, workers, and supporters marched from the Congress office towards the Assembly to register their protest.
However, the police stopped the march midway, following which protesters raised slogans against the government, accusing it of adopting dictatorial measures and conspiring to abolish MGNREGA.
They also waved placards and party flags to highlight their opposition to the alleged changes.
The police detained several senior Congress leaders and party workers during the protest.
Addressing party workers on the occasion, two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleged that the BJP government has undermined the rights of Dalits, backward classes, economically weaker sections, rural communities, and panchayati raj institutions.
He said the Congress stands firmly with MGNREGA workers and is campaigning across the country to protect their employment rights.
Hooda alleged that the BJP government began weakening MGNREGA after coming to power.
“The Congress’ response to a question in Parliament revealed that over 800,000 MGNREGA workers were registered in Haryana. However, in 2024–25, the government provided 100 days of work to only 2,100 families. The government neither provided work nor compensation as outlined in the scheme,” he said.
“This means the BJP had already virtually abolished this scheme in Haryana. Now, with the name change, the scheme has been wiped out. However, the Congress will oppose it at every level and force the government to reverse this anti-people decision,” Hooda said.
He added that the MGNREGA scheme, introduced during the Congress-led government, was aimed at strengthening Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj and ensuring livelihood security in rural areas.
He said the scheme’s budget was demand-driven and not subject to a fixed allocation ceiling, and that all states and districts were required to provide employment to those seeking work under its provisions.
He further said it was the responsibility of the Central government to allocate adequate funds for the scheme.
“But now that budget has been divided between the Central government and the states in such a way that its determination and management have become difficult,” Hooda added.
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