Modi govt bulldozed MGNREGA, says Sonia Gandhi, vows fight against 'black law'

New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday accused the Modi government of bulldozing the MGNREGA, and asserted that the "black law" that seeks to repeal it will be defied the lakhs of party workers.

In a video message, she said that by weakening MGNREGA, the Modi government had attacked the interests of crores of farmers, labourers, and landless across the country.

She alleged that over the past 11 years, the Centre had ignored the interests of the rural poor.


Gandhi said she vividly remembers the day 20 years ago, when Manmohan Singh was prime minister, and the MGNREGA Act was passed in Parliament by consensus.

The former party president said it was "such a revolutionary step," and became a means of livelihood for the deprived, the exploited, and the poorest of the poor.

She said, due to MGNREGA, migration in search of work came to a halt, a legal right to employment was provided, and gram panchayats were empowered.



"Through MGNREGA, a concrete step was taken towards realising the dream of an India based on Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj," she said.

"But it is a matter of great regret that just recently, the government ran a bulldozer over MGNREGA. Not only was Mahatma Gandhi's name removed, but the form and structure of MGNREGA was changed arbitrarily - without any deliberation, without consulting anyone, without taking the opposition into confidence," the Congress leader alleged.