Chikkaballapura (Karnataka), February 23 Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the BJP-led Centre on Monday of dismantling the MGNREGA and vowed to continue the agitation until it is restored.
Addressing the 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangraam' rally here, he said that the Congress would fight across the country against the replacement of the rural jobs scheme with a new law brought by the Union government.
"Today, across the entire country, the 'Save MGNREGA' campaign has been launched. It has also begun in Karnataka," Siddaramaiah said, alleging that the BJP government at the Centre had scrapped the MGNREGA during the winter session of Parliament and enacted the Vikasit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar Ajeevika Mission–Grameen (VBG-RAMG) Act in its place.
There was no justification to repeal the scheme, he said, recalling that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted in 2005 when the late Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi to provide employment to rural labourers, Adivasis, small farmers, and women.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the law was pushed through Parliament without adequate debate. "On December 17, 2025, there were only eight hours of debate. On December 18, the Bill was passed and the VBG-RAMG Act was brought into force," he said.
He claimed that nearly 12 crore workers were affected by the scrapping of MGNREGA, of whom about 53 per cent were women and 28 per cent belonged to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Referring to Mahatma Gandhi, the chief minister said the scheme was named after him because he believed that India could not progress without the development of villages and "Gram Swaraj".
Under MGNREGA, anyone seeking work in a village could apply at the Gram Panchayat and was guaranteed 100 days of employment a year, failing which compensation had to be paid, he said.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the new law curtailed the powers of Gram Panchayats and shifted decision-making to the Centre.
"The decision on what work will be undertaken is now with the Central government. Unless funds are sanctioned from Delhi, work cannot begin in a Panchayat," he said, adding that this would result in uneven implementation.
Siddaramaiah further alleged that while MGNREGA had no provision for contractors and limited material costs to 10 per cent, the new law mandated a 40:60 cost-sharing formula between states and the Centre, placing an additional burden on states.
Listing the Congress party’s demands, the CM said, "Our key demands are: the Vikasit Bharat Rozgar Act must be completely repealed; MGNREGA must be reinstated; the people's right to employment must be restored; the autonomy of Panchayats must be reinstated; and a nationwide minimum wage of Rs 400 per day must be ensured."
He warned that the agitation would continue until these demands were met.
"Until these demands are met, our agitation will not stop," Siddaramaiah said, drawing parallels with the farmers’ protests against the now-repealed farm laws.
Senior Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president, were present at the rally.