Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Congress Committee (DCC) on Saturday launched the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra, a three-day protest march opposing changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by the BJP-led Central Government. The yatra began at Charminar and passed through multiple city areas as part of the party’s national campaign to defend rural employment rights.
The protest, led by Hyderabad DCC President Syed Khalid Saifullah, aims to counter what the Congress calls the “dilution” of MGNREGA. The march will cover five Assembly constituencies—Charminar, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura, Chandrayangutta, and Malakpet—culminating on January 26.
Congress launches MGNREGA Bachao to defend Right to Work
Senior Congress leaders, including AICC Secretary Sachin Sawant and former PCC chief V. Hanumantha Rao, joined the yatra as chief guests. The event saw active participation from local Congress leaders such as Rajesh Kumar Pulipati (Bahadurpura), B. Nagesh (Chandrayangutta), Mohmmed Mujeebullah Shareef (Charminar), Shaik Akbar (Malakpet), and K. Ravi Raj (Yakutpura).
Speaking at the rally, Hanumantha Rao accused the Modi government of undermining the legal Right to Work. “MGNREGA gave rural families a constitutional guarantee. Now, the Centre is treating it as a controlled favour. This goes against democratic principles,” he said.
Sachin Sawant criticised the new system for promoting wage insecurity. “Earlier, workers had assured access to minimum wages and year-round employment. Today, arbitrary restrictions and seasonal work push them into insecure jobs,” he said.
DCC President Saifullah condemned the shift in administrative control. “MGNREGA worked because it empowered Gram Panchayats. Transferring powers to contractors strips away local governance. It reduces labourers to powerless wage earners,” he stated.
He also warned that the Centre’s move to make States bear 40% of wage costs would limit the programme’s reach. “This will discourage implementation and hurt those who rely on MGNREGA the most—especially women and SC/ST families,” he added.
The Congress leaders passed a resolution reaffirming support for MGNREGA. They cited its record of generating over 180 crore person-days of work and creating nearly 10 crore public assets. “This scheme kept the rural economy alive during COVID-19. We must resist any attempt to dismantle it,” they said.
Party workers and citizens participated actively in the Hyderabad leg of the march, carrying placards and raising slogans against centralisation and privatisation of rural employment schemes.
Leaders including Kotla Srinivas, Bheem Arjun Reddy, K. Raviraj, Mamidi Krishna Kumar, Allam Bhaskar, Mallikarjun, Abdul Khadeer, Yusuf Danish, Mohammad Abdul Ghani, Mohd Mustafa, Syed Dilawar Hussain, Arun Thakur, Shankar Nayak, Srinivas Valmiki, Ranga Srikanth Goud, Alevalu, Indivelu, and Sheshu Yadav also joined the protest.