Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led central government, alleging that it was systematically weakening the rural employment guarantee scheme and “strangling the Right to Work and torturing crores of poor people". In a post on X, the Congress president claimed that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was being gradually dismantled, accusing the Narendra Modi government of pushing vulnerable rural households deeper into economic distress. Citing what he described as the latest findings related to the implementation of the scheme, Kharge alleged that nearly 44 lakh fewer families received work under MGNREGA, while around 67 lakh fewer labourers were provided employment compared to previous figures. He further claimed that the number of families completing the guaranteed 100 days of work had fallen sharply by 40.5 per cent, alongside a 21.5 per cent decline in person-days generated under the scheme. According to Kharge, the decline in employment opportunities had also resulted in a significant loss of income for rural households, with each MGNREGA family allegedly suffering an average income loss of Rs 1,221. The Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition also criticised the Centre over the delay in implementing the VB GRAM G framework, alleging that labourers had been left “wandering helplessly from door to door” in search of work. Accusing the BJP government of financially burdening states, Kharge said the Centre had not only withheld crores of rupees due to several states but had also imposed an additional 40 per cent financial burden on them under the new framework, despite many states already struggling with limited resources. Targeting the ruling dispensation’s economic policies, Kharge alleged that the government was favouring “select capitalists” while systematically eroding the rights and welfare protections meant for the poor. “The friend of select capitalists, the BJP government, is fully committed to wiping out the rights of the poor, and this is what truly exposes their real policy and intent toward the poor," he said.
