Congress to launch ‘Save MGNREGA Movement’ in Assam from January 10

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee will launch the ‘Save MGNREGA Movement’ in the state from Saturday as part of a nationwide agitation against the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission–Gramin (VB-GRAM) Act.

Announcing the programme in Guwahati, AICC general secretary in charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh Chauhan, said the Congress will intensify its agitation across the country, including Assam, to oppose what it described as the removal of a rights-based employment guarantee for rural workers. Chauhan said the VB-GRAM Act has replaced MGNREGA and effectively withdrawn the guaranteed employment that workers had enjoyed for nearly two decades.

He alleged that under the new system, the Centre would have greater discretion in determining wages, thereby stripping workers of their legal rights. “MGNREGA has been the lifeline of rural workers for the last 20 years. The new Act undermines that security and weakens the rights of labourers,” Chauhan said.

As part of the nationwide protest, the ‘Save MGNREGA Movement’ will be launched in Assam on January 10 with press conferences at district headquarters across the state. This will be followed by a day-long statewide dharna on January 11. Chauhan said protest meetings will also be organised at gram panchayat levels from January 12 to 29, involving Congress workers as well as MGNREGA labourers.

The agitation will culminate on January 30, marking the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, with observances across the state, the AICC leader said. He added that Assam Congress chiefs, along with AICC observers in charge of the respective districts, will supervise the protest programmes.

Chauhan claimed that the NDA government’s repeated attempts to weaken MGNREGA have not succeeded so far due to public resistance and asserted that the current move would also be opposed strongly. He warned that dismantling MGNREGA would have serious financial implications for state governments and adversely impact rural livelihoods.

The Congress leader said the agitation would continue until the VB-GRAM Act is withdrawn and MGNREGA is fully restored, reiterating the party’s commitment to protecting employment rights and social security for rural workers.