Modi government is anti-people, bent on oppressing MGNREGS workers: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge 

Congress president Kharge criticizes Modi government for neglecting MGNREGS workers, demands ₹400 daily wage and 150 days of work.

Branding the Narendra Modi government as “anti-people”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the government is bent on “oppressing” workers enlisted under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). He also reiterated the party’s demands that their minimum wage per day be fixed at ₹400 and that they be provided at least 150 days of work in a year.

Sharing on X a media report which claimed that the government was unlikely to raise the daily floor wage under the programme on top of the annual hike, Mr. Kharge said: “It seems that the anti-people Modi government has refused to increase MGNREGS wages. This is like attacking the rights of MGNREGS workers.”

The Parliamentary Standing Committee, in multiple reports, recommended increasing the minimum daily wage of MGNREGS workers to ₹400 per day. 

“Amarjeet Sinha’s High Level Committee formed in 2023 had also suggested increasing wages and increasing the budget of MGNREGS. But the anti-poor Modi government is bent on oppressing MGNREGS workers,” Mr. Kharge said. 

Be it excluding nearly 7 crore registered workers from MGNREGS by imposing the condition of Aadhaar-based payment, or allocating the lowest MGNREGS budget in the last 10 years as compared to the total budget, the Modi government has been negatively impacting MGNREGS, he said.

“MGNREGS was brought by the Congress party for the poorest families of our country. We are firm on our two demands — minimum wage of ₹400 per day for the workers and at least 150 days of work,” Mr. Kharge said.