Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah strongly criticised the BJP-led Union Government for repealing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling it a direct attack on workers’ rights and a grave insult to India’s federal structure.
“If Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated once by Godse, today the BJP is repeatedly erasing him by removing his name altogether. The BJP government functions under the ideological guidance of the RSS, which draws inspiration from the Manusmriti,” Siddaramaiah said.
He alleged that the Union Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi repealed MGNREGA and introduced the VB-G RAM G Act unilaterally, without consulting state governments or seeking the opinion of the people. “This decision reflects an authoritarian mindset and a complete disregard for democratic and federal principles,” he said.
Recalling the UPA era under Dr Manmohan Singh, the Chief Minister said rights-based legislations such as the Right to Work, Right to Information and Right to Education empowered citizens across the country. “MGNREGA was a landmark law that ensured dignity and livelihood security for rural India,” he noted.
Siddaramaiah expressed serious concern over the hurried passage of the new law. “The Bill was introduced in Parliament on December 17 and pushed through the very next day. Today, India has 12.16 crore MGNREGA workers, including 6.21 crore women. About 17% belong to Scheduled Castes and 11% to Scheduled Tribes. In Karnataka alone, there are 71.18 lakh workers, of whom 36.75 lakh (51.6%) are women. The livelihoods of all these workers are now under threat,” he Expressed concern.
Accusing the Modi Government of prioritising corporate interests over workers and farmers, Siddaramaiah said that MGNREGA had allowed rural families to work in their own villages alongside agricultural activities, create durable community assets and strengthen village economies. “Most importantly, people had a legal right to demand work. That right has now been taken away,” he said.
He further alleged that over the past 11 years, the Union Government’s primary achievement has been renaming, diluting or dismantling people-centric welfare schemes. “Nearly 30 welfare programmes have been altered or withdrawn, hollowing out their original intent,” he said.
Under MGNREGA, a minimum of 100 days of work per year was guaranteed, with employment provided locally. “Under the new law, as per Section 5(1), work will be available only in areas notified by the Union Government. There is no assurance to Gram Panchayats or workers. Employment will be denied for 60 days during peak agricultural seasons, and wage indexation to inflation has been removed,” he pointed out.
The Chief Minister also criticised the shift in financial responsibility. “Earlier, the Union Government bore the entire wage cost. The new law pushes 40% of the financial burden onto states, violating Articles 258 and 280 of the Constitution. Powers granted to Gram Panchayats under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment have also been taken away, severely undermining federalism and local self-governance,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said he had written to the Prime Minister on December 30, urging that the unconstitutional law should not be implemented. “We demand the complete repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act, restoration of MGNREGA, reinstatement of employment rights for women, Dalits and Adivasis, and the return of powers to Panchayats,” he said.
Warning of serious social consequences, he said the new law would increase unemployment, reduce women’s participation in the workforce, intensify distress among Dalit and Adivasi families, and weaken rural livelihoods. “Panchayats will be reduced to mere implementing agencies, while contractors and corporate interests will gain strength,” he added.
The Chief Minister recalled that the BJP had opposed MGNREGA from the outset and had mocked people-centric legislations such as the Food Security Act. “Weakening welfare laws that empower the poor has always been part of the BJP’s long-term agenda,” he said.
