Agartala, January 11:
The Tripura Pradesh Congress on Sunday strongly criticised the BJP-led central government over the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that the move reflects a deeper ideological disregard for Mahatma Gandhi, similar to the actions of fundamentalist forces witnessed in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Addressing reporters in the sidelines of a day-long hunger strike in Agartala as part of the party’s nationwide ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’, senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roy Barman said the dilution and replacement of MGNREGA was not merely an administrative decision but an “assault on the ideals of the Father of the Nation.”
Roy Barman, also a former Minister, drew a parallel between the destruction and humiliation of statues of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh and what he termed as “systematic attempts in India to undermine Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy.”
“There is no difference between fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh and those operating in India when it comes to humiliating the Father of the Nation,” Roy Barman alleged.
“While one side vandalises statues, the other snatches away Gandhi’s most important legacy for the poor — the right to work guaranteed under MGNREGA.”
He argued that MGNREGA, introduced by the UPA government, was rooted in Gandhian philosophy of dignity of labour, decentralisation, and empowerment of rural poor.
According to him, curtailing funds, reducing workdays, and replacing the scheme with the VB-G RAM G Act amounted to an ideological attack on these principles.
Roy Barman further alleged that under the new legislation, the Centre would decide where work would be provided and to whom, thereby weakening panchayats and stripping rural households of a universal employment guarantee.
“This is not development, this is centralisation and denial of rights,” he said.
The Congress leader also questioned the government’s claim of providing 125 days of employment under the new Act, stating that when even 100 days could not be ensured under a fully Centre-funded scheme, shifting 40 per cent of the financial burden to states would only worsen the situation.
The Tripura Congress reiterated its demand for repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act, restoration of MGNREGA in its original form, and enhancement of minimum wages to ₹400 per day.
Party leaders said the agitation would continue until the “right to work, livelihood and Gandhian values” were fully restored.
