Chandigarh, February 25 The Haryana Congress staged a protest on Wednesday against alleged changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and accused the BJP government of weakening the social security scheme for the poor.
The protest was led by AICC in-charge B K Hariprasad, former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, state Congress president Rao Narender Singh, and MPs, including Deepender Singh Hooda, along with other party leaders and several workers.
The protesters marched from the Congress office and were heading towards the state Assembly, but were stopped midway by police. Several of them were detained as they raised slogans against the government and alleged that it was trying to abolish MNREGA.
Addressing the gathering, Hooda claimed that the BJP government has weakened the scheme after coming to power. He said that while over 8 lakh workers were registered under MNREGA in Haryana, only around 2,100 families received the mandated 100 days of employment in 2024-25.
He accused the government of neither providing adequate work nor compensation as stipulated under the scheme. Hooda said MNREGA, introduced by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, was aimed at strengthening rural employment and fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj.
He further alleged that recent changes and budget sharing between the Centre and the states have made the implementation of the scheme difficult. He asserted that the Congress would oppose any move to dilute or abolish MNREGA and continue its campaign to protect the rights of workers.