The abolition of MGNREGA will have a direct impact on the weak and economic condition of the states: Congress

The Congress party has said that the VB JI Ram Ji Bill, which the government has forcibly passed in Parliament by ending MGNREGA, will first affect the poor, dalits, tribals and backward classes and secondly affect the financial condition of the states.
Jairam Ramesh, in charge of the Congress's communication department, said at a press conference at the party headquarters here on Friday that this bill will not only deprive the weaker sections of society of their rights but will also have a profound impact on the economic condition of the states. The bill will have 60 percent central funding, while 40 percent will be allocated to the states. For the Himalayan states, 90 percent will be disbursed by the central government.
Mr. Ramesh said that the VB JI Ram Ji is an anti-people law and will have a direct impact on every weaker section of society. Therefore, the Congress party will launch a campaign against it, which will be run across the country. The Congress will fight against this anti-people law along with those who are likely to be affected by this law. The Congress Working Committee, the highest policy-making body, is scheduled to meet on December 27 to discuss a comprehensive strategy.
He said the biggest problem is that the central government should decide where and how workers will be employed in rural areas. The central government will take full responsibility. This bill has unprecedented centralization of power by the central government. The mandate of MGNREGA was to strengthen panchayats and ensure the development and welfare of the village and its people, but now the central government will take full responsibility. The basic character of this scheme has been changed, and the legal rights given to workers under it have been abolished. First, the Right to Information Act was abolished, and now MGNREGA has been ended. He said that in the future, the Forest Rights Act will be abolished, followed by the land acquisition, and then the National Food Security Scheme will be targeted and completely abolished under the strategy.
Mr. Ramesh said that through this bill, the government has bulldozed MGNREGA, and many members of the BJP in Parliament were not in favor of it and did not support it wholeheartedly. They cannot come out openly, but they do not like the government's policy of changing MGNREGA. What was the harm in discussing it with everyone before introducing this bill, and why was it not sent to the parliamentary committee when it was introduced? He asked the government to tell which chief ministers of which states it had discussed the matter with.
He said that the 15-day winter session was completely bulldozed, democracy was murdered, history was distorted, and great personalities were insulted. The budget session will be held in a month and a half, which will be long, and the government can introduce such a bill there as well, but the Congress is not going to leave this matter and will force the government on this. Just as the government was forced to withdraw the law against farmers, it will be forced to do so in this matter as well.
The Congress spokesperson said that the Congress Working Committee meeting is taking place on December 27, where a strategy regarding the VB Ram Ji Bill will be discussed. He said that this is a major issue for the Congress party and it is its responsibility to formulate a solid strategy on this issue. A nationwide movement will be launched against this law as it is anti-poor, anti-weak, and anti-social, and the government will launch a nationwide campaign against it.