Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, on March 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI/Sansad TV
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at Centre of systematically undermining the rural employment scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, (MGNREGS) , the flagship poverty alleviation policy introduced by the late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Ms. Gandhi was speaking during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (March 18, 2025). She said that the programme that was a landmark legislation of the Manmohan Singh government has been a “crucial safety net for millions of rural poor.” “It is deeply concerning that the present BJP government has systematically undermined the scheme. The budget allocation remains stagnant at ₹86,000 crores — a 10-year low as a percentage of GDP,” the Congress leader said.
She further said that this Union Budget allocation, when adjusted for inflation, effectively declined by ₹4,000 crore. “Moreover, estimates suggest that nearly 20% of the allocated funds will be used to clear pending dues from previous years,” Ms. Gandhi said.
She also dwelled on the challenges brought upon by various technological interventions such wage payments through Aadhaar Based Payment System (ABPS) and capturing attendance of the workers via National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS). This coupled with persistent delays in wage payments and low wage rates is hindering the programme. On behalf of the Congress party, she demanded five reforms to ensure that MNREGA continues to provide “dignified employment” and “financial security” to the rural poor.
Ms. Gandhi said that adequate financial provision should be there to sustain and expand the scheme, the minimum wage rate should be increased to ₹400 per day and there should be timely disbursement of wages. She also pressed for increasing the number of guaranteed work days from 100 to 150 days.
In her brief intervention, Ms. Gandhi did not speak about th ongoing impasse between centre and WEst Bengal government, where the programme is now shut since December 2022.
Published – March 18, 2025 06:39 pm IST