Congress warned that the proposed Bill would turn MGNREGA into a centrally controlled scheme, burden states with higher costs, and deny rural workers employment when they need it most.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, December 16, 2025 — The Congress on Tuesday sharpened its confrontation with the BJP-led Centre over the proposed changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with senior leader Rahul Gandhi accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to dismantle a cornerstone of rural livelihood and erase Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals from public policy.
In a strongly worded post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Modi ji has a deep dislike for two things — the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the rights of the poor.” He described MGNREGA as “the living embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj” and warned that the new Bill amounts to a deliberate effort to hollow out the scheme.
MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, guarantees 100 days of wage employment to rural households and has long been regarded as one of India’s most significant rights-based welfare legislations. Rahul Gandhi underscored its role as a critical economic safety net, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It has been a lifeline for millions of rural Indians and proved to be a crucial economic safety net during the COVID pandemic,” he said.
READ: ‘Attack on Gandhi’s Ideals and the Poor’: Rahul Targets Modi Govt Over Rural Jobs Bill
‘Ten Years of Systematic Weakening’
According to the Congress leader, the BJP government’s move is not sudden but the culmination of a decade-long effort to undermine the programme. “For the past ten years, his government has systematically tried to weaken it. Today, he is determined to erase MGNREGA altogether,” Rahul Gandhi alleged.
He recalled that MGNREGA was built on three foundational principles:
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“The right to employment — anyone who demands work must be provided employment,”
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“Autonomy for villages to decide their own development works,” and
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“Full wage support by the Central Government and 75% of material costs.”
The proposed Bill, he argued, overturns all three pillars.
‘From a Right to a Tool of Control’
Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of converting MGNREGA from a people-driven entitlement into an instrument of centralised control. “Now, Modi ji wants to transform MGNREGA into a tool of centralised control,” he said, adding that under the new framework, “budgets, schemes and rules will be dictated by the Centre, states will be forced to bear 40% of the costs, and once funds run out — or during harvest season — workers will be denied employment for months.”
Calling the proposed legislation “a direct insult to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi,” Rahul Gandhi warned that after presiding over what he described as “massive unemployment among India’s youth,” the Modi government was now “targeting the secure livelihood of poor rural families.”
The combined attack on Gandhiji’s legacy, workers’ rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare and replace it with charity controlled from the Centre.
In view of the gravity of this attack, all PCCs are hereby directed… pic.twitter.com/afmbX1lKC1
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 16, 2025
Political Escalation From Streets to Parliament
The issue has also triggered sharp political reactions within Parliament, with Congress MPs raising objections and staging protests against the Bill. Party leaders said the changes strike at the heart of decentralisation, federalism, and social justice.
“From Sadak to Sansad, we will oppose this anti-people bill,” Rahul Gandhi declared, signalling sustained agitation both inside and outside Parliament.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC), in a circular issued earlier in the day, echoed the attack, accusing the BJP-RSS of attempting to dismantle rights-based welfare programmes and replace them with centrally controlled, discretionary schemes. The Congress announced nationwide protests, including district-level demonstrations on December 17 and village-level programmes on December 28, coinciding with the party’s foundation day.
The Centre has yet to issue a detailed response to the allegations. However, government sources have maintained that the proposed reforms aim to improve efficiency and accountability in rural employment programmes — a claim the Congress has strongly contested.
