Centre must repeal G RAM G Act, restore MGNREGA: Congress

Hanumakonda: The Congress Party on Saturday demanded that the Union BJP government immediately repeal the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Rural) Act (G RAM G) and restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), warning that the new law would severely affect rural livelihoods.

Addressing a press conference at the DCC Bhavan in Hanumakonda, District Congress Committee (DCC) President and Co-operative Chairman Engala Venkatram Reddy, along with MLC Basavaraju Saraiah, MLAs Naini Rajender Reddy and K. R. Nagaraj and senior party leaders, said the Centre’s move was an attack on the right to employment and the powers of Gram Panchayats.

Engala Venkatram Reddy alleged that the BJP government was weakening constitutionally guaranteed rights of Gram Panchayats by reducing them to mere implementing agencies. He said the G RAM G Act, introduced in place of MGNREGA, would lead to increased unemployment, lower wages for labourers and large-scale exploitation of rural workers.

He warned that restrictions on workers would force labour migration and that Dalit and Adivasi families would be the worst affected. He also cautioned that if the Centre failed to withdraw the Act immediately, the Congress Party would intensify agitation programmes across the state.

MLA Naini Rajender Reddy accused the BJP of acting with vendetta against MGNREGA and said undermining welfare schemes meant for the poor was against the spirit of democracy. He said crores of rural families depended on the employment guarantee scheme and scrapping it would cause severe hardship.

He also criticised the BJP for misleading people by merely changing the names of schemes instead of addressing real issues. He said halting works in villages had pushed labourers and poor families into distress.

MLC Basavaraju Saraiah and MLA K. R. Nagaraj strongly objected to removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the employment guarantee scheme, calling it unjustified and disrespectful. They also condemned the remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament against Dr B.R. Ambedkar, terming them highly objectionable. The leaders called upon Congress workers to expose the failures of the BJP and BRS to the people in every village and ward.