Following the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, launched a strong attack on the government, accusing it of undermining the rights of states and dismantling MGNREGA. Gandhi argued that the latest decisions by the government is a “direct assault on state autonomy, infrastructure development, and the rights of marginalised communities.”
Gandhi slams centralisation of power
In a press conference after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi decried what he called an “attack on the states of India.” He hit out at the government's move to centralise control over resources and decision-making powers, especially with regard to critical programs like MGNREGA.
“They are simply taking away money that belongs to the state, decision-making power that belongs to the state,” Gandhi said. He pointed out that states have historically relied on programs like MGNREGA to fund infrastructure projects and support rural employment. Gandhi argued that these programs are integral to local governance and regional development, and the central government's interference undermines these efforts.
MGNREGA not just a work program’
Gandhi further said, “MNREGA is just not a work program. It is a conceptual framework, a development framework.” He said that the program had been widely appreciated internationally for its rights-based approach to development.
“Kharge ji mentioned that he visited 16 countries, and every single country where he went appreciated the fact that our government had come out with an entirely new development rights-based concept,” Gandhi added. Coming down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi claimed that the dismantling of MGNREGA was a decision taken unilaterally by the Prime Minister’s Office without proper consultation with Cabinet ministers or relevant stakeholders.
“This has been destroyed single-handedly by the Prime Minister, without asking his cabinet, without studying the matter,” Gandhi said.
