New Delhi: The Congress has announced a nationwide campaign from January 5 against the repeal of the MGNREGA, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge warning that people are angry and the Narendra Modi government will have to face the consequences for the move at the CWC meet in New Delhi.

The VB-G RAM G Bill, replacing the 20-year-old MGNREGA, was passed in Parliament during the recently concluded winter session of Parliament amid vociferous protests by the Opposition. The new act has a provision for 125 days of wage employment for rural workers.

At a press conference on Saturday after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Kharge said the party will lead the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan’ across the country. He said MGNREGA was not just a scheme, but the ‘Right to Work’ given by the Constitution. “People are angry over the repeal of MGNREGA; the NDA government will have to face the consequences,” he said.

“At the CWC meeting, we took an oath that a campaign would be launched with MGNREGA as its focal point. The Congress would take the lead and start a “MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan” from January 5,” Kharge said.

Referring to the cost-sharing clause between the Centre and state governments under the VB-G RAM G Act, the Congress chief said states will have an additional expenditure burden and termed it a one-sided decision taken without consultation. “This law has been brought to crush the poor; we will fight against it on the streets and in Parliament,” he said. Kharge said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was a visionary legislation of the UPA government, which was appreciated across the world. The scheme was named after Mahatma Gandhi due to the impact it had, he said. “Repealing MGNREGA is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi,” he said, calling it an attack on the Right to Work.

“The Modi government has, without any study, evaluation or consultation with states and political parties, repealed the law. The government’s move should be protested against across the country,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi had predicted long ago that the farm laws would be taken back. Now, he has said that the MGNREGA would have to be brought back,” Kharge said, “It is our collective responsibility to make concrete plans on MGNREGA and launch a nationwide public campaign.” He said people are looking towards the Congress in this “difficult situation”.

On the SIR exercise, the Congress leader said it is a serious issue, and a well-planned conspiracy to limit people’s democratic rights.

“Rahul ji has presented several examples and facts on ‘vote chori’ (vote theft). There is a collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission. We have to ensure that the names of our voters are not deleted. We also need to ensure that the names of Dalits, tribals, extremely backward classes and minorities are not deleted or transferred to other booths. For this, our booth-level agents will have to go house to house,” he said. He called on party members to start working in states that will go to polls in 2027.

Kharge also condemned the attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and said that the entire nation is concerned over it. He added that the attacks on Christmas Day celebrations by “organisations linked to the BJP and RSS” have disturbed communal harmony and tainted India’s image globally.