New Delhi, Dec 20 || Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday mounted a sharp attack on the PM Narendra Modi-led government, accusing it of systematically running a "bulldozer" over the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and undermining the rights of rural poor, farmers and landless workers, terming it an “assault on rural livelihoods”.
This comes two days after the Parliament passed the VB-G RAM G Bill 2025, which escalated into a major political slugfest between the government and the opposition.
In a video message shared by the Congress on X, Gandhi recalled the passage of the landmark employment guarantee law nearly two decades ago during the tenure of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
She said MGNREGA was passed with broad consensus in Parliament and proved to be a “revolutionary step” that provided livelihood security to crores of rural families, particularly the most deprived and marginalised.
“The law stopped distress migration by ensuring employment in one’s own village, strengthened gram panchayats and gave a legal right to work,” Gandhi said, adding that the scheme embodied Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj.