Hyderabad: Congress leaders and workers staged a protest in Hyderabad on Tuesday. They condemned what they called systematic attempts by the BJP-led NDA government to dilute the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Hyderabad DCC President accuses NDA government of subverting guarantees
At the protest, Syed Khalid Saifullah accused the Centre of weakening the scheme through proposed restructuring. He argued that the changes undermine its core principles.
According to him, the plan shifts the legal guarantee of employment into a discretionary benefit. In this system, the Centre would decide which Gram Panchayats receive work.
He warned that this move would deny rural families their right to demand employment. It would also reduce the programme to a centrally controlled handout. As a result, the scheme could face political and bureaucratic interference.
Furthermore, he said the changes would weaken the scheme’s original goal of ensuring dignity and security for rural workers.
Khalid Saifullah also raised concerns about wage security. He said the original Act guarantees minimum wages, annual revisions, and year-round work. However, the new model could fix wages arbitrarily, without regular revisions.
In addition, he criticised the plan to suspend the scheme during the harvest season. He said this would leave landless labourers without income during crucial months.
