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Congress MP K Suresh on Saturday said that the central issues that was discussed during the party's working committee meeting was the Narendra Modi government's move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgaar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G) 2025.
He said the CWC "strongly opposed" the centre's move and decided to launch a nationwide protest. "Today's Working Committee meeting mainly discussed the Union government's move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme with a new program called VB-G RAM G. The committee decided to oppose this move strongly and to provide leadership for a nationwide protest against it. The entire discussion in the meeting was centred on this single issue," Suresh told reporters here. Earlier in the day, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that the party will launch a nationwide 'Save MGNREGA' campaign from January 5, 2026. Speaking to the media, Kharge said that party leaders took an oath during the meeting to protect MNREGA and oppose any attempt to weaken or alter the scheme. "In the meeting, we took an oath. We decided to launch a massive movement across the country, making the MNREGA scheme the central point. Indian National Congress party, taking a leading role, will launch the MNREGA Save Campaign from January 5th," Kharge said. Emphasising the importance of the scheme, the Congress chief said MNREGA is not merely a welfare programme but a constitutional right. "We will protect the MNREGA at all costs. MNREGA is not just a scheme but a right to work guaranteed by the Constitution of India. We also pledge to democratically oppose every conspiracy to remove Gandhiji's name from MNREGA," he added. On December 21, President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to the VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, marking a significant milestone in the transformation of rural employment policy, as per a release by the President's Secretariat. The Act enhances the statutory wage employment guarantee to 125 days per financial year for rural households. It seeks to advance empowerment, inclusive growth, convergence of development initiatives and saturation-based delivery, thereby strengthening the foundation for a prosperous, resilient and self-reliant Rural Bharat. Earlier, Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, marking a decisive reform in India's rural employment and development framework. The Act replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, with a modern statutory framework that enhances livelihood security and is aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. (ANI)
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