Highlights of Speech of Shri Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha), addressed the national convention on MGNREGA workers’ at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi, on January 22, 2026.

Addressing the National MGNREGA Workers’ Convention, Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “The concept of MGNREGA was about empowering the poor... The idea was that anyone in India who needed work could demand it and receive it with dignity. That was the concept of MGNREGA. Another aspect was that this scheme would be implemented through the third tier of government, our Panchayati Raj system... It incorporated the voices of the people, the voices of the workers, respect, and most importantly, the word ‘right’... This scheme gave every poor person the right to employment. Now, Narendra Modi and the BJP want to abolish that concept.”

A few years ago, they attacked the farmers, bringing in draconian laws. But the farmers stopped them. I remember how the farmers, both in Parliament and on the streets, pressured Narendra Modi... we all pressured Narendra Modi and the government, and those laws were repealed. Now, they are trying to implement the same concept they used against the farmers, but this time, against the labourers. The idea is that the Delhi government will decide where the money goes, how much money goes where, which states will receive it, which districts will receive it. BJP-ruled states will get more money, opposition-ruled states will get less, and they will decide what kind of work is needed and implement it in a centralized manner... They have taken away the power from the local authorities, and the main point is that the money that previously went to the laborers will now go to contractors and the bureaucracy.

All of the BJP’s schemes are based on this principle. Their ideology is that India’s wealth and assets should be in the hands of a select few... that they should make the decisions, that they should run the country, that all the wealth should go into their hands, and that the poor people, who are mostly from the Dalit, tribal, and OBC communities, should become completely dependent on these rich people, like Adani and Ambani, and obey them... and if they don’t obey, they should starve. This is their model for India.

I said in the last election that they are attacking the Constitution... the farm bills were an attack on the Constitution, demonetization, the flawed GST, and now this G-Ram Ji bill... So, the idea is to destroy our Constitution, to eliminate the concept of ‘One Man-One Vote’, to dismantle democracy, and to bring back the India that existed before independence, where one person, a king or maharaja, made all the decisions, held all the assets, and did whatever they wanted. They want to bring back that kind of India, and their intentions are not going to stop, because they want to change and break down the structure of modern India. There’s only one way to stop them... and the farmers have shown the way to the labourers. He said that in the same way, the new law will also be withdrawn and MGNREGA will be restored. “I know these people, they are cowards. When faced with united resistance, they simply cave in,” he said, calling for unity among the poor and the downtrodden to get MGNREGA restored. If all of you, if all of us stand together... whether you want to call it MGNREGA or give it some other name, you will decide what the scheme will be called, how it will be implemented, where it will operate, how long it will run, and for how many hours a day. But having said that, let me add something else – if there is one shortcoming, it is a lack of unity... the poor people don’t stand together, but now they will have to, and this is a great opportunity... the MGNREGA movement is a huge opportunity for all the poor people of India who believe in the idea of India, who believe in the Constitution, who believe in Democracy, to stand together. If we stand together, Modi ji will have to back down, and MGNREGA will be restarted.

You have all come from far and wide, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. And as Sandeep said, wherever the Congress Party can stand with the workers of this country, you will find the Congress Party standing there. Thank you!