Hyderabad: Hyderabad District Congress Committee (DCC) president Syed Khalid Saifullah on Tuesday accused the BJP-led NDA government of dismantling the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He said this action amounts to dismantling MGNREGA lifeline, calling it a direct attack on the rural economy and the constitutional Right to Work.
Addressing a protest near Babu Ghat in Hyderabad, held as part of the Congress party’s nationwide MGNREGA Bachao Sangram campaign, Khalid Saifullah said the Centre’s move to restructure and rename the scheme undermines the core principles. These principles, he stressed, made the scheme a pillar of rural welfare.
Congress warns against erosion of rural rights and local governance
Khalid Saifullah reminded that it was the Congress-led UPA government under Dr. Manmohan Singh that enacted MGNREGA, granting legal employment rights and empowering Gram Panchayats. Since then, he said, the scheme has generated over 180 crore person-days of work and created 10 crore rural assets. In addition, it strengthened grassroots democracy.
He alleged that the Modi government is converting MGNREGA from a rights-based framework into a centrally controlled favour. Under the proposed changes, the Centre would decide which Gram Panchayats qualify for work. This would strip rural citizens of their right to demand employment.
He further criticised the new model for removing wage protections. The original Act provided for annual wage revisions and guaranteed year-round work. Under the revised model, wages would be fixed arbitrarily, with no obligation to update rates. Suspending work during harvest seasons, he warned, would push landless labourers into unregulated job markets with no wage security.
Congress leaders at the protest also flagged the dilution of Gram Panchayat authority. They said project control is shifting to the Centre, while the use of contractors—banned under the original law—would return. Furthermore, local support staff like mates and Rozgar Sahayaks could also be removed. This would weaken the community-based structure of the programme.
Khalid Saifullah noted that the financial burden is now being shifted to state governments. While the Centre previously covered 100% of wage costs, the new model requires states to fund 40%. As a result, he said, this would reduce the number of workdays and shrink access, especially for women and SC/ST communities who form the majority of MGNREGA beneficiaries.
Senior Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao, Khairatabad DCC president Motha Rohit, and several other party members joined the protest.