Zero Hour

Modi-Govt systematically undermining MGNREGA: Smt. Sonia Gandhi

She also demands Rs 400 minimum wage, 150 work days

New Delhi: In Parliament, Congress Parliamentary Party’s Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi exposed how the BJP is systematically crippling the world’s largest rural employment scheme, first by slashing budget allocations, then by delaying wage payments, and now by imposing cruel digital hurdles that exclude the most vulnerable. Despite rising demand for work, the government is cutting funds, forcing states to bear the burden and leaving millions of job-seekers helpless. The budget allocation for MGNREGA has remained stagnant at Rs 86,000 crore. Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention in the Rajya Sabha, Smt. Sonia Gandhi said the UPA government under then prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh enacted the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in 2005. This historic law has been a crucial safety net for millions of people living in rural India.

From Aadhaar-linked wage payments to app-based attendance, artificial obstacles are being used to push out those who need MNREGA the most like marginalized laborers, Dalits, Adivasis, and women.

The CPP Chairperson demanded that adequate financial provisions be made to sustain and expand the scheme. Also, the minimum wage should be increased to Rs 400 per day along with their timely disbursement, she said, adding that the number of guaranteed workdays should be raised from 100 to 150 per year.

The wages vary from state to state and are in the range of Rs 237 (Uttrakhand) to Rs 300 (Andhra Pradesh) a day. Demanding the removal of the Aadhaar Payments Bridge System (APBS) and NMMS, Smt Sonia Gandhi said, “These measures are essential to ensure that MGNREGA provides dignified employment and financial security.”

The Central government had increased MGNREGA wages by 3-10 per cent in nominal terms for the financial year 2024-25 just before the general elections were announced last year. Smt. Sonia Gandhi questioned Why is the Modi government punishing the poor while writing off lakhs of crores in loans for its billionaire friends? Congress Party will fight for MNREGA, and we will not allow the BJP to destroy it.