CM vows continued protest until MGNREGA is restored

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the state government would continue its agitation until the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is fully restored, strongly opposing the Centre’s move to replace it with a new scheme. He also accused the Governor of violating constitutional norms by not reading the Cabinet-approved address during the joint session of the legislature.

Addressing the media at Vidhana Soudha, the Chief Minister said the Governor’s decision to read a speech prepared independently, instead of the one drafted and approved by the state Cabinet, amounted to a violation of Articles 176 and 163 of the Constitution. “This is an insult to the legislature and the elected representatives of the people,” Siddaramaiah said.

He explained that delivering the Cabinet-prepared address during the first joint session of the year is a constitutional duty of the Governor.

“From the inception of the Constitution, Governors have followed this convention. Deviating from it undermines constitutional propriety,” he added.

Strong opposition to replacing MGNREGA

Siddaramaiah reiterated the government’s firm opposition to the Centre’s decision to repeal MGNREGA and introduce the “Viksit Bharat Rozgar evam Aajeevika Mission (Grameen).” He said the new legislation removes Mahatma Gandhi’s name and dilutes the core objective of guaranteeing employment as a legal right.

MGNREGA, introduced in 2005 during the UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh, guarantees at least 100 days of employment to rural households. “This law has benefited Dalits, women, small farmers and rural labourers by ensuring livelihood security,” the Chief Minister said.

‘New Law Does Not Assure Employment’

Criticising the proposed law, Siddaramaiah said it does not assure year-round employment and strips gram sabhas and panchayats of their authority to plan and implement works.

“Earlier, employment could be provided throughout the year based on local needs, and workers could find work within their villages or on their own land. The new scheme centralises decision-making and forces labourers to work at locations decided by the Centre,” he alleged.

He pointed out that while women and Scheduled Castes constitute a significant percentage of the workforce, the new law does not provide guaranteed employment to these vulnerable groups.

Accusations against Opposition and Centre

The Chief Minister accused opposition parties of deliberately defending the new law. “They have no autonomy and blindly support central policies. As the ruling party, we oppose this anti-poor move, and our objections were included in the Cabinet-approved Governor’s address,” he said.

Siddaramaiah further alleged that the Governor acted as an “instrument of the Centre” to conceal its mistakes by delivering an alternate speech. “This is unconstitutional conduct, and the Governor has failed in his duty,” he said.

Statewide protest and legal options

He announced that the Congress government, legislators and MLCs would launch protests across the state against the Centre’s decision. “Just as anti-farmer laws were withdrawn after sustained protests, we will continue our struggle until MGNREGA is reinstated and the new law is scrapped,” he asserted.

The Chief Minister also said the Cabinet-approved address had been circulated among legislators and that the government would discuss the possibility of approaching the Supreme Court to challenge the Governor’s action and the Centre’s legislation.