Govt doing to workers what it did to farmers: Rahul slams VB-G RAM G Act

Rahul Gandhi says repeal of MGNREGA mirrors farm laws push, warns Centre wants control over work and funds under VB-G RAM G Act; Congress vows to raise issue in upcoming Budget session

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that the Modi government’s attempt to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) mirrors its earlier push for the now-repealed farm laws, urging people to unite against the proposed Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act.

 

Addressing the National MGNREGA Workers’ Convention organised by the Rachnatmak Congress, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the government’s objective behind repealing MGNREGA was the same as when it introduced the “three black farm laws”, reported PTI.

 

Gandhi said MGNREGA was conceived as a rights-based law to empower the poor by guaranteeing employment through the Panchayati Raj system.

 

“The thinking was to provide work to those who need it. This scheme was to be run through the third tier of government, Panchayati Raj. The word ‘rights’ was important. All poor people had the right to work under MGNREGA and PM Modi-BJP wants to finish that concept,” he said.

 

Centre wants control over funds, work allocation

 

Drawing parallels with the farm laws, Gandhi said farmers had successfully forced the government to repeal them by united pressure.

 

“Some years ago they brought in the three black farm laws, but farmers stopped that after all of us unitedly put pressure on the government. We all put pressure and got the laws repealed. They are doing the same thing with workers that they did with farmers,” he said.

 

Under the VB-G RAM G Act, Gandhi alleged, the Centre would decide the nature of work and allocation of funds, with BJP-ruled states getting preference. What workers earlier received directly would now be diverted to contractors and the bureaucracy, he claimed.

 

Gandhi accused the BJP of wanting to concentrate assets in the hands of a few industrialists, making poor people dependent on large corporates. “They want assets to be in a few hands so that the poor people are dependent on Adani-Ambani, that is their model of India,” he said, adding that the government envisioned an India where “the King decides everything."

 

He also mocked the name of the Act, saying he could not remember it, and asked the audience if they remembered the name.

 

Kharge backs fight against MGNREGA repeal

 

Addressing the same convention, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the repeal of MGNREGA was an attempt by the Modi government to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s name from public memory.

 

He asserted that Congress would strongly raise the issue in Parliament’s upcoming Budget session. “In the Budget session, we will fight for this issue,” Kharge said, slamming the government for repealing MGNREGA, reported PTI.

 

Congress launches ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’

 

The Congress launched a 45-day nationwide campaign, ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’, on January 10, 2026 to protest against the repeal of the UPA-era MGNREGA.

 

The party is demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and the restoration of MGNREGA in its original form as a rights-based law, including the right to work and the authority of panchayats.