Cong padayatra in Patna: Leaders vow statewide campaign to ‘save MGNREGA’

Bihar Congress leaders held a padayatra to mark their foundation day, launching "MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan" to oppose the new VB-G RAM G Act undermining rural employment rights.

Leaders of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC), headed by state president Rajesh Ram, led a padayatra on Sunday from the party’s headquarters at Sadaqat Ashram to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Gandhi Maidan. The march marked the Indian National Congress’s 141st foundation day and the 102nd formation day of Congress Seva Dal, while serving as a platform to announce a statewide “MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan” starting January 5.

Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram with party leaders and workers take out Padyatra to mark the 141st foundation day of the Indian National Congress from Sadaqat Ashram to Gandhi Maidan in Patna (SANTOSH KUMAR/HT)

The event highlighted growing opposition concerns over the Centre’s recent enactment of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as VB-G RAM G Act, which replaces the longstanding Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Critics in the opposition, including Congress leaders, have described the new law as an effort to undermine the rights-based employment guarantee for rural poor.

During the flag-hoisting ceremony at Sadaqat Ashram, BPCC chief Ram unfurled the party’s flag and administered an oath to workers, reaffirming the party’s commitment to strengthening democracy. Addressing the gathering, he emphasised that MGNREGA was not merely a scheme but a constitutional right to work derived from the Indian Constitution.

“This is no ordinary programme; it is the right to work enshrined in our Constitution, which we will protect at all costs,” Ram said. He pledged that the party would unite to fight for rural labourers’ dignity, employment, timely wages, demand-based jobs and the powers of gram sabhas. “We will democratically oppose any conspiracy to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme and turn workers’ rights into charity,” he added.

Later, at Gandhi Maidan, Ram reiterated the Congress’s resolve: “With full faith in the Constitution and democracy, the Congress commits to saving MGNREGA, protecting labourers’ rights and raising our voice in every village.”

The padayatra was jointly led by Rajesh Ram, leader of the Congress legislative party in the Bihar egislative council Madan Mohan Jha, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and Bihar in-charge Shahnawaz Alam and Congress Seva Dal state president Sanjay Yadav. En route, the leaders paid floral tributes at the samadhi of former President Rajendra Prasad at Bans Ghat.

Participants also engaged with the public, urging them to join the party’s bid to defend and save the MGNREGA law. The march drew hundreds of party workers, leaders and Seva Dal members, including prominent figures such as former CLP leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan, media department head of BPCC Rajesh Kumar Rathor, spokesman Asit Nath Tiwari, MLAs, MLCs and several district-level office-bearers.

The announcement of the “MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan” aligns with broader Congress’s objections to VB-G RAM G Act, which opposition members argue dilutes the demand-driven nature of the original scheme, shifts more financial burden to states and removes Mahatma Gandhi’s name – seen by many as symbolic of eroding a key legacy programme for rural empowerment.