‘Right to Work’ Row: Congress steps up opposition with Rahul Gandhi rally

ISLAMABAD: Indian opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, will lead a protest rally against the repeal of MGNREGA by BJP, in Rai Bareily, tommorow on Jan. 20, congressional leadership said.

The Congress party has called for a 45-day campaign protesting the government's decision to repeal MGNREGA, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The campaign began Jan. 10 and runs through Feb. 25.

MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of paid work per year to rural households and is considered India's largest social security program. 

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now propose replacing it with new legislation called the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Bill 2025.

The campaign, named MGNREGA Bachao Sangram (Hindi for "war to save MGNREGA") is gathering momentum in Indian Punjab, where thousands of people including MGNREGA workers are participating in rallies.

The president of congress’ Punjab chapter, Amrinder Singh Warrin, in a statement to Indian media, said, “the BJP government has changed the system of allocating funds, which were earlier decided in the villages and panchayats but will now be decided in Delhi”.

He lamented that, “A rights based law has been turned into charity”.

Protesters plan to surround state residences of BJP-affiliated officials and state legislative buildings in the second phase, Congress member K.C. Venugopal said in a statement.

National Students Union of India (NSUI) posted on X that, “Under the Modi government, access is shrinking, certainty is vanishing, and livelihoods are being pushed to the margins.” 

The statement further said that “Modi has changed the ‘Right to work’ into permission.”

Indian media outlets reported the massive turnout of tens of thousands at the protests as historic, marking a significant challenge to the ruling party's attempt to overhaul rural employment guarantees in the world's most populous nation.