Bhubaneswar, Jan 19 (NationPress) The Congress party, represented by the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan (RGPRS), conducted a satyagraha (protest march) on Monday at the Lower PMG Square in Bhubaneswar, voicing opposition to the substitution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with the recently launched VB–G RAM–G scheme.

The demonstrators subsequently presented a memorandum to Hari Babu Kambhampati, the Governor of Odisha, regarding their concerns.

Leading the protest were Sunil Panwar, National Chairman of RGPRS; Sudarshan Das, State Chairperson of RGPRS; along with numerous senior executive members and supporters who participated in the agitation, demanding an immediate reinstatement of MGNREGS.

In response to the matter, Panwar stated that millions of impoverished individuals in the nation, whom he referred to as the genuine proprietors of the country, have long been seeking their fair share.

"The Congress established the Right to Work through MGNREGS, a law based on rights. However, last month the BJP government abolished the MGNREGS Act in Parliament and replaced it with a new scheme-based law under the title VB–G RAM–G," he claimed.

Panwar emphasized that the critical distinction between the two is that MGNREGS was a rights-based law, whereas VB–G RAM–G is a scheme that can be terminated at any moment.

"Under MGNREGS, registered job cardholders possessed a legal entitlement to request work within 15 days. That privilege has now been revoked under VB–G RAM–G," he added.

He also noted that previously, Panchayati Raj institutions had the power to determine the nature of work to be done in villages and when laborers could seek employment at any time of the year.

"If work was not provided within 15 days, the worker was entitled to an unemployment allowance. All these protections have been eliminated, stripping the labor class of their rights," Panwar declared.

Criticizing the revised funding structure introduced by the Union government, Panwar mentioned that previously, the Central government covered 100% of the wage costs, with states responsible solely for administrative costs.

"Now a 60:40 funding ratio has been imposed. States with limited financial resources will find it challenging to initiate development projects, effectively denying employment to rural workers," he cautioned.

Addressing the crowd, Sudarshan Das, Odisha Chairperson of RGPRS, accused the current BJP government of undermining the essence of the original MGNREGS Act by launching the VB–G RAM G scheme, which he asserted dilutes the constitutional principle of the right to work as enshrined in the Directive Principles of State Policy.