Surjewala attacks Centre on MGNREGA revamp, accuses BJP of propaganda

With sharp words and sweeping metaphors, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday mounted a blistering attack on the Narendra Modi government over its decision to replace the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA, accusing the BJP of hollow symbolism and ideological betrayal.

Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, Surjewala alleged that the Centre’s move to bring in the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act has struck at the very livelihood of India’s rural poor, impacting nearly 50 crore people across the country.

“In the last 11 years, Mahatma Gandhi’s spectacles have been borrowed for propaganda, but his ideals have been ignored,” Surjewala said. “In the same way, the BJP rode to power in the name of Lord Ram, only to abandon his ideals. This is how the BJP governs — through symbolism without substance.”

Calling MGNREGA a lifeline for the marginalised, the Congress MP said its replacement has directly affected around 12.5 crore poor, tribal, Dalit and backward class workers. “When you account for their families, the fallout touches nearly 50 crore lives,” he claimed.

Surjewala contrasted the demand-driven nature of MGNREGA with what he described as a centralised and remote-controlled alternative. Under the old law, he said, any rural worker could approach the panchayat for employment, and failure to provide work within the stipulated time meant wages had to be paid. “That was the guarantee,” he said. “Under the new law, everything will be decided from Delhi — which state, which district, which village will get work, and how much.”

He also took aim at the funding structure of the new scheme, pointing out that while MGNREGA was fully funded by the Centre, the new framework requires states to bear 40 per cent of the cost. “States simply do not have the resources to shoulder this burden,” Surjewala argued. “The inevitable result will be the slow suffocation of employment for the poor.”

Echoing the party’s resistance, state Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu announced the launch of a statewide agitation titled ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ in Odisha, beginning January 10 and continuing till February 25. He said public meetings would be held from the district to the state level to mobilise opposition against what the party calls a law that has dealt a severe blow to rural livelihoods.

As the Congress sharpens its campaign, the debate over the future of rural employment — and the ideals it claims to embody — is set to intensify both on the ground and in the political arena.

With PTI inputs