Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/UDHAMPUR, Jan 25: JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla today continued the Congress party’s mass outreach campaign under the banner of “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram”, launched by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), by addressing a public gathering at Panchayat Arnia Kool, organized by the District Jammu (Rural) Committee.
The programme was aimed at strongly protesting the Union Government’s decision to change the name of the historic Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a scheme that has been a lifeline for rural India and particularly for the economically weaker sections of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the gathering, Bhalla said that MGNREGA is not merely a welfare scheme but a powerful instrument of social security that guarantees dignity, employment, and survival to rural households. He asserted that any attempt to dilute, rename, or undermine the identity of this landmark legislation is a direct attack on the rights of the poor.
Bhalla stated that Mahatma Gandhi’s name is inseparably linked with truth, justice, and empowerment of the weakest, and removing or altering it reflects a deliberate attempt to erase the ideological foundations of inclusive development. Highlighting public issues confronting the people of region , Bhalla expressed serious concern over rising unemployment, especially among youth, shrinking job opportunities, and uncertainty in recruitment processes.
Neeraj Kundan, District president Jammu Rural, strongly supported the stand taken by the Congress leadership and said that MGNREGA has played a crucial role in providing employment security to rural families in Jammu district. He appealed to the Govt to withdraw any move aimed at changing the name or weakening the scheme.
Meanwhile, under the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram, a large public meeting was organised at village Chowki Chandrore in the Ramnagar Assembly Constituency of Udhampur district.
Addressing the gathering, senior Congress leaders strongly accused the BJP-led Central Government of deliberately weakening the people-oriented MGNREGA scheme.
Th Balbir Singh said that MGNREGA is a lifeline for poor and rural labourers, but the new policies and rules of the Central Government have almost rendered the scheme ineffective. “MGNREGA is a legal right of workers, but through new laws, online procedures, and technical conditions, poor labourers are being pushed out of the scheme. Wages are being withheld for months, creating hunger-like conditions for workers,” he added.
Satish Sharma general secretary launched a sharp attack on the Central Government, stating that the new rules introduced in the name of MGNREGA are, in fact, a conspiracy to dismantle the scheme. He said that due to the anti-people policies of the BJP Government, the rural economy is weakening and unemployment is continuously rising.
Sumit Mangotra district president said that weakening MGNREGA exposes the BJP’s anti-poor mindset.
He remarked, “Rural workers have been waiting for their wages for months, but the Government is unwilling to listen.
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