Hyderabad: Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda on Sunday accused the Modi government of dismantling the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) through a bill passed in the Lok Sabha. He said the move attacks rural employment rights and undermines Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals.
Speaking at a press meet in Gandhi Bhavan, with TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud present, Hooda described the changes as a calculated attempt to remove Gandhi’s legacy from public policy. “This government didn’t just drop Gandhi’s name from the scheme. It stripped away job security from 12 crore rural workers,” he said.
According to Hooda, MGNREGA once stood for decentralised governance and labour dignity. Now, he said, the Centre has converted it into a centrally controlled, conditional benefit that no longer guarantees work.
MGNREGA shift undermines local control and work guarantees
Hooda said the government had steadily weakened the scheme since 2014. He cited examples such as shrinking budgets, delayed state funding, cancelled job cards, and Aadhaar-linked conditions. These changes, he noted, excluded nearly seven crore people and reduced workdays to an average of 50 per year.
He criticised the Centre’s move to shift over ₹50,000 crore of the scheme’s cost to states. At the same time, he pointed out, Delhi retained full control over branding, credit, and operational rules. “States are left paying while the Centre claims the spotlight,” Hooda said.
He warned that the revised policy allows state governments to restrict work periods. That change, he argued, removes the legal certainty that MGNREGA once offered poor families. “What was once a right under Article 21 is now a benefit handed out on the Centre’s terms,” he added.
Hooda also said local governance has been sidelined. “Gram sabhas and panchayats are no longer in control. Instead, dashboards, biometric tracking, and GIS maps now decide who gets to work,” he said.
Hooda links MGNREGA rollback to political misuse of agencies
Hooda said the new system replaced demand-driven employment with capped allocations. As a result, he argued, the Centre can now limit funding and penalise states for trying to offer more jobs. “This is not reform. It is a rollback of the state’s responsibility to fight rural unemployment,” he said.
Turning to national politics, Hooda accused the BJP of misusing enforcement agencies for vendetta. He pointed to the National Herald case, which a court recently dismissed. “This case was never about law. It was about silencing Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
He recalled that both the ED and CBI declined to file charges for years, citing no legal basis. Suddenly in 2021, Hooda said, the ED reopened the case without new evidence. He claimed this showed how the BJP abused power to attack opponents.
“The court clearly said the ED overstepped its limits and acted without cause,” Hooda said. He added that Rahul Gandhi faced 50 hours of interrogation over five days without a single charge holding up. “These are political theatrics—not justice,” he said.
He ended the briefing by calling on the Prime Minister and Home Minister to resign. Hooda vowed that the Congress would continue to fight undemocratic attacks and defend the Constitution. “We won’t be silenced. Truth will always win,” he said.