[Marxistindia] Joint Protest Call Against Changes in MGNREGA

[news from the cpi(m)]

December 17, 2025

 

Joint Protest Call Issued by Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist
Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation,
Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc 

 

22 December -  All India Protest Day

Left Parties Call for Protest Against Changes in MGNREGA

 

The Left parties strongly oppose the BJP-led Union Government's move to
alter the basic character of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was enacted due to the pressure exerted by
the Left parties on the UPA government. We call upon the people to mobilise
in large numbers and protest on 22 December, against the Viksit
Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB
G-RAM-G Bill), which is sought to replace MGNREGA.

 

MGNREGA is a universal, demand-driven law that provides a limited right to
work. The new Bill changes this character and denies people even this
limited right. It legally absolves the Union Government of its
responsibility to allocate funds in accordance with demand.

 

The government's claim of increasing guaranteed employment from 100 to 125
days is yet another of its well-known jhumlas. The Bill excludes large
sections of rural households in the name of rationalising job cards. The
suspension of employment for up to 60 days during peak agricultural seasons
will deny work when it is most needed by rural workers and make them
dependent on landlords. Mandatory digital attendance causes immense
difficulties for workers, including loss of work and denial of their rights.

 

By proposing a change in the funding pattern, the Centre shifts its
responsibility onto the states. This places an unsustainable financial
burden on state governments while denying them any role in the
decision-making process. The states are also expected to bear the
expenditure on unemployment allowance and delay compensation. All these
changes are intended to curtail the reach of the scheme and dilute the Union
Government's accountability.

 

The change in the scheme's name from MGNREGA to G-RAM-G is an affront to
Mahatma Gandhi and reflects the BJP/RSS's hostility towards his legacy.

 

We demand that the BJP government immediately withdraw the VB G-RAM-G Bill.
The Left parties will protest against these proposed changes throughout the
country on 22 December. We appeal to the people to join in large numbers and
demand the immediate withdrawal of the new Bill. We demand the government to
strengthen the MGNREGA by making it universal, allocating necessary funds to
ensure that at least 200-days of minimum employment is provided.

 

 

 

M A Baby                       D Raja                            Dipankar
Bhattacharya

General Secretary            General Secretary            General Secretary

CPI (M)                           CPI                                  CPI
(M-L) Liberation

 

 

 

Manoj Bhattacharya           G Devarajan

General Secretary                   General Secretary

RSP                                        AIFB

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://cpim.org/pipermail/marxistindia_cpim.org/attachments/20251217/17f3e678/attachment.html>