Mallikarjun Kharge targets Centre over MGNREGA; claims a budget ‘cut’

NEW DELHI: Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday alleged in a social media post that in the guise of using technology and Aadhaar, the government has deleted over seven crore worker job cards, cutting these households off from MGNREGA work.

The Congress also claimed a cut in the budget allocation of the MGNREGA, marking a 10-year low in the scheme’s funding. Kharge stated that in 2005, on this day, the Congress-UPA government enacted the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to ensure the ‘Right to Work’ to crores of people in rural India.

“Presently, there are 13.3 Cr active workers who depend on MGNREGA, despite low wages, abysmal work-days, facing deletion of job cards. In the guise of using technology and AADHAAR, the Modi Govt has deleted over 7 crore workers job cards, cutting these households off from MGNREGA work”, he posted on X.

“This year’s Budget allocation for MGNREGA is just 1.78% of the total budgetary allocation, which marks a 10-year low in the scheme’s funding. The lower allocation by Modi Govt contributes in artificially suppressing the demand for work under the scheme”, Kharge alleged.

In 2005, on this day, our Congress-UPA Govt enacted Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to ensure ‘Right to Work’ to crores of people in rural India.

Presently, there are 13.3 Cr active workers who depend on MGNREGA, despite low wages, abysmal… pic.twitter.com/VC5dpoMUUi

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 23, 2024

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA, was introduced in 2005 under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime to ensure the ‘right to work’ for people in rural areas. It ensured 100-day wage employment in a financial year for at least one member of every household, with adult members willing to do unskilled manual work.

The Economic Survey has already laid the groundwork to justify the low allocation by claiming that MGNREGA demand does not necessarily correlate with rural distress, Kharge added. “Recent Parliamentary Standing Committee report has said that the daily wages paid under the MGNREGA are inadequate. For instance, since 2014, the daily wage rate for Uttar Pradesh has increased just 4% per year, when inflation has been much higher than that. Today a labourer earns on an average a mere Rs213/day. The Congress is committed to provide Rs400/day as National Minimum Wage,” the Congress chief added.

He said, “Even though Rural Inflation is higher than Urban Inflation for 13 straight months, Modi Govt’s rank apathy towards rural poor continues!”He concluded his post with, “The present state of MGNREGA is a LIVING MONUMENT of PM Modi’s betrayal to rural India!” (ANI)