This is not just a case of renaming MGNREGA but a “systematic killing of the largest employment system in the world”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said while talking about the VB-G RAM G Bill. File | Photo credit: ANI
The Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, will meet on December 27 to discuss the process to replace the government Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the new legislation, sources said on Thursday (Dec 18, 2025).
MGNREGA was a flagship program introduced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its first term in 2005.
It would be the first meeting of the CWC after the debacle the party faced in the Bihar Assembly elections. It also assumes significance as the party’s strategy for the next round of assembly elections in the first half of 2026 – in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal – could be drawn up.
The opposition party is also trying to up the ante on scrapping MGNREGA and build a campaign around the issue.
This is not just a case of renaming MGNREGA but a “systematic killing of the world’s largest employment system”, said Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge while speaking on the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill.
The Union government has taken away people’s right to work and “there will be a nationwide movement against it”, Mr Kharge said.
Published – 18 Dec 2025 20:30 IST
