Nagaland Congress launches 45-day statewide agitation against repeal and renaming of MGNREGA

The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) on January 8 launched a 45-day statewide agitation against the repeal and renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that the Centre has dismantled a critical rights-based livelihood programme for rural India.

The agitation was formally launched at Congress Bhavan by AICC secretary and Member of Parliament Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, who also chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Employment and Panchayati Raj. The programme was attended by NPCC president and Lok Sabha MP S Supongmeren Jamir, working president Khriedi Theunuo, and several senior party leaders.

Addressing party workers, Ulaka criticised the manner in which the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission–Gramin (VBG RAM-G) Act was passed in Parliament, describing it as undemocratic and rushed. He alleged that the legislation was introduced and cleared without adequate debate, effectively replacing MGNREGA and diluting its core rights-based provisions.

Ulaka further accused the Centre of systematically weakening MGNREGA over the past 11 years through delayed wage payments, chronic underfunding and denial of material costs. Referring to Nagaland, he claimed that material costs amounting to around Rs 103 crore have remained pending with the Centre for the last nine months, while wage payments to workers have also been delayed. He also alleged that Nagaland continues to have one of the lowest MGNREGA wage rates in the country, with no revision for several years.

Outlining the protest roadmap, Ulaka said the 45-day agitation would include press conferences across the state, symbolic fasts, panchayat-level outreach programmes, submission of memoranda to district authorities, and rallies aimed at mobilising public opinion in defence of the employment guarantee scheme.

NPCC president Supongmeren Jamir described the launch of the agitation as a significant day for the party, asserting that the Congress has consistently stood for the rights of grassroots communities. He said MGNREGA, introduced during the UPA government led by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh with the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, played a transformative role in reducing poverty and improving rural livelihoods across the country.

Chairing the programme, NPCC working president Khriedi Theunuo said the protest, titled ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’, is being carried out as per the directive of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and would be taken to the grassroots level across Nagaland.