Left parties to protest against NREGA overhaul on Dec 22
- Leaders of 10 parties issue a joint statement calling for the protest, saying the Bill will replace demand‑driven guarantee with a supply‑driven model and cut Centre’s funding share from 90% to 60%, imposing an extra`4,000 cr burden on Andhra Pradesh
- Leaders allege that the promised rise to 125 workdays is misleading; job cards are being ‘rationalised,’ machines are cutting manual jobs, and a 60‑day suspension during peak season hurts rural workers.
Vijayawada: Ten Left parties called for statewide protests on December 22, opposing the Centre’s proposed amendments to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). They allege that the introduction of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G) Bill will undermine the core principles of the existing scheme, which guarantees rural employment as a legal right.
In a joint press release here on Thursday, leaders including CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao, CPI state secretary G Eswaraiah, CPI (ML) New Democracy leader P Prasad, CPI (ML) leader Jasti Kishore Babu, MCPI (U) leader Katam Nagabhushanam, CPI (ML) Liberation leader B Bangarrao, CPI (MLK) New Democracy leader M Ramakrishna, SUCI(C) leader B S Amarnath, Forward Bloc leader PV Sundararama Raju, and Revolutionary Socialist Party leader Janaki Ramulu, condemned the proposed changes. They noted that the original Act was enacted due to persistent efforts by Left parties during the UPA regime.
The leaders argued that the new Bill would shift the demand-driven employment guarantee to a supply-driven model, diluting its intended purpose. They also criticized the plan to reduce the Centre’s funding share from 90% to 60%, warning that this would impose an additional annual burden of around Rs 4,000 crore on Andhra Pradesh.
The Left parties described the proposed increase in workdays from 100 to 125 as misleading, claiming that, in practice, many rural families are being excluded under the pretext of “rationalising” job cards. They further alleged that the increased use of machines is already reducing opportunities for manual labour.
The leaders also condemned the suspension of employment for 60 days during peak agricultural seasons, arguing that this deprives rural workers of jobs when they need them most and forces them to rely on landlords. Renaming MGNREGA, they added, is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi.
The Left parties called upon the TDP and Jana Sena to urge the Centre to withdraw the Bill. They also appealed to workers, activists, and the public to participate in large numbers in district-level protests on December 22.
