The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee has launched a 45-day protest in Kohima opposing the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
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KOHIMA — The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) on Thursday launched a 45-day protest against the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), following the enactment of the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025 by the Centre.
The protest was formally launched at Congress Bhavan, Kohima, with senior Congress leaders alleging that the new legislation amounts to a statutory overhaul of the MGNREGA, which was introduced in 2005.
Addressing the gathering, MP and chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and AICC in-charge of Nagaland, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said the ruling government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been “trying to kill” the MGNREGA programme since 2014.
Despite the scheme helping large sections of the rural population, he said the government was undermining it by delaying payment of wages and material costs. Citing Nagaland as an example, Ulaka said material costs amounting to around INR 103 crore have been pending with the Centre for the past nine months. He also alleged that around INR 30 lakh in wages has not been paid for the last one year.
“This is the double engine government of NDPP and BJP,” he alleged.
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Ulaka further said Nagaland has one of the lowest MGNREGA wages in the country at INR 241 per day. For the past 11 years, he said, wages have not been increased and payments have been delayed, while the scheme has been underfunded. He claimed that if the government allocates INR 80,000 crore as the budget, about 27 per cent goes into clearing pending liabilities, and that the government attempts to curb the scheme by capping demand.
Saying that the government is bound to pay wages and provide employment to rural people, he added that MGNREGA is a right for any person without a job.
He described the renaming of MGNREGA as an “attack on” Gram Panchayats and rural livelihoods, and an attempt to ensure that the scheme fails.
NPCC president and Lok Sabha MP S Supongmeren Jamir said the scheme was introduced in 2005 by the then Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh and party leader Sonia Gandhi, providing livelihood avenues to people in villages.
He said that during the last parliamentary session, the Congress opposed the renaming of MGNREGA, but the ruling government “forcefully enacted” the Act. Until the government rolls back MGNREGA to its original form, he said, the Congress will continue to voice its opposition and fight for the needy.
Jamir said the BJP had earlier “acknowledged” the scheme and its role in uplifting rural people, but questioned what led the party to change its position. He said the ruling government was “contradicting” itself by claiming misuse of the scheme.
Referring to alleged misappropriation of around INR 193 crore cited by the BJP, he said the government was “confused” and attempting to misrepresent facts. He argued that while MGNREGA was a centrally sponsored scheme guaranteeing 100 days of work, the renaming has turned it into a budget-driven project, which he said was confusing the public.
NPCC working president C Apok Jamir said the repeal of MGNREGA has taken away the right to 100 days of employment for rural people. He said the move has political motives and that the BJP focuses more on the connotation of the new name than on its implications.
He alleged that the new Act is no longer under state control and has shifted to the Centre, whereas earlier it was a rights-based scheme. Inviting people to participate in the protest, he said the public should reflect on the implications of a law that goes against the essence of providing employment.
The NPCC said that during the protest period, demonstrations, press conferences, symbolic protests, rural outreach programmes, memoranda submissions and rallies would be organised across the country.