Congress to host national MGNREGA workers' convention in Delhi on Thursday: Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi [India], January 21 (ANI): Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit announced on Wednesday that the party will hold a national MGNREGA workers' convention on January 22 in the national capital to protest the changes made by the BJP-led centre government to the earlier rights-based law.
Addressing a press conference here today, Dikshit said the convention will be held on Thursday at Jawahar Bhawan, with around 300-400 MGNREGA workers and activists from 20-25 states.
He said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will attend the programme and directly interact with the workers.
The Congress leader alleged that the changes introduced by the BJP have triggered widespread opposition from MGNREGA workers over the past 15 to 25 days at the panchayat, district and state levels.
Sandeep Dikshit claimed that the earlier act MGNREGA had proven to be a "lifeline" during the Covid period, providing "employment and dignity to crores of the rural poor" and had evolved into a "deeply trusted entitlement among agricultural labourers and marginal farmers".
"What people received under MGNREGA was a right earned through work, not a favour from the government," he said.
Dikshit alleged the new framework seeks to convert a statutory, demand-driven employment guarantee into a discretionary relief programme, which he described as "politically motivated and contrary to public interest".
He alleged that the revised system shifts an additional financial and administrative burden onto state governments, many of which are already under severe fiscal stress, while allowing the Centre to portray taxpayer-funded expenditure as a "gift".
Dikshit said that Thursday's programme would provide a platform for workers to articulate the impact of the changes brought by the new law and to jointly evolve future strategies of resistance.
He said, "As part of a symbolic act, workers will bring soil from their respective MGNREGA worksites, which will be collected together to convey the message of unity and collective struggle."
He added that senior leaders of the ongoing MGNREGA movement, MPs who served on parliamentary committees during the amendment process, and rural development ministers from Congress-ruled states will also share their perspectives on the implications of the new VB-G RAM G Act.
The VB-G RAM G Act was passed in the Winter Session of the Parliament in 2025, and replaces the 100-day employment guarantee with a 125-day guarantee. However, the Opposition has criticised the legislation for removing Mahatma Gandhi's name and a 60:40 share of funds between the Centre and states. (ANI)