New Delhi, Dec 20 (NationPress) Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi launched a fierce critique of the Modi-led government on Saturday, alleging it is systematically running a 'bulldozer' over the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). She condemned this as an effort to undermine the rights of the rural poor, farmers, and landless workers, labeling it an “assault on rural livelihoods”.

This statement follows the recent passage of the VB-G RAM G Bill 2025 in Parliament, which has sparked an intense political confrontation between the government and the opposition.

In a video message posted by the Congress on X, Gandhi reminisced about the establishment of this landmark employment guarantee legislation nearly twenty years ago during the administration of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

She highlighted that MGNREGA was introduced with widespread support in Parliament and has been a “revolutionary step” that secured livelihoods for millions of rural families, especially the most disadvantaged and marginalized.

“The legislation curtailed distress migration by guaranteeing employment in local villages, empowered gram panchayats, and provided a legal right to work,” said Gandhi, emphasizing that the scheme reflected Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj.

She pointed out that MGNREGA served as a crucial support for the impoverished during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Congress leader accused the Modi government of making continuous efforts to weaken the scheme over the last 11 years by neglecting the needs of the rural unemployed and poor.

She expressed “deep anguish” regarding what she described as recent unilateral modifications to the program.

“The government has modified the very framework of MGNREGA without any consultation, discussion, or consideration for the opposition. Even Mahatma Gandhi’s name has been expunged,” claimed Sonia Gandhi.

She cautioned that decisions regarding who receives work, the amount of employment offered, and its location are now being determined “from Delhi, disconnected from ground realities”.

Emphasizing that MGNREGA was never intended to serve any specific political agenda, Gandhi stated that while the Congress played a pivotal role in instituting the law, it was always designed to benefit the national and public interest.

“By compromising this law, the government has infringed upon the rights of millions of farmers, laborers, and landless rural poor,” she stressed.

Gandhi affirmed that the Congress stands ready to resist what she characterizes as an assault on rural livelihoods. “I advocated for the employment guarantee law two decades ago, and I remain dedicated to opposing this ‘black law’ today,” she stated, asserting that Congress leaders and supporters are firmly aligned with the people.