Bihar: MGNREGS workers protest for 87 days; Kharge slams Centre over ‘erosion of right to work’

The Modi government’s antipathy towards the UPA-era MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) is increasingly becoming evident on the ground, despite official claims of continuity. In Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, the crisis has spiralled into a prolonged agitation.

According to media reports, MGNREGS workers have been protesting at the district headquarters for 87 days, alleging that repeated assurances have not translated into actual job allocation.

In states across Bihar to Rajasthan, thousands of rural workers, as per various reports, claimed they have not been given work for months, pushing households into acute financial distress.

The Centre has maintained that the MGNREGS would continue unchanged until the rollout of the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB–G RAM G), passed in December.

The protest, which began on January 2, involves nearly 12,000 workers who allege that they have been without employment for three to four months even before proposed changes to the rural employment framework were formally introduced.

However, workers and activists say the ground reality sharply contradicts these assurances.

Those familiar with the situation point to a deepening financial crisis among rural households, many of whom rely on MGNREGS as a critical safety net during distress periods.

Reacting sharply, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of systematically dismantling the scheme.

“The BJP has effectively axed the ‘right to work’ for millions of labourers. There is no trace of the scheme they once publicised so aggressively. They have left no stone unturned in weakening MGNREGS,” he said.

On January 22, Congress had organised a National MGNREGS Workers’ Convention at Jawahar Bhawan in New Delhi, protesting what it calls the dilution of the rural employment guarantee framework under the current regime.

Reports of similar disruptions have surfaced from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other states, suggesting a broader pattern.

A recent CAG report on Maharashtra underscores systemic gaps: less than 53 per cent of approved works have been completed over the past five years, while nearly 2.5 lakh projects have not even begun.

The timing is particularly stark. Amid rising costs and Iran war migrant workers are returning to villages only to find the rural safety net weakening.

“Prime Minister keeps invoking the COVID period but seems to have forgotten how MGNREGS provided critical relief to millions during the pandemic," Kharge said.

The widening gap between policy assurances and ground realities is fast emerging with the opposition framing it as a question of livelihoods, accountability, and the state’s commitment to welfare guarantees.