Despite govt's failure to support MGNREGA, it represents Cong's commitment to social justice: Rahul

Lok Sabha leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Centre of "undermining" the MGNREGA and said despite the Narendra Modi government's "failure to support" the scheme's potential, it continues to represent the Congress's commitment to social justice.

The Congress MP from Rae Bareli recalled that on this day in 2005, the Congress-led UPA government enacted the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and envisioned an equal and inclusive approach for India's growth.

"Our vision was clear, simple, and singular: to uplift the poorest sections of our society and provide them with a life of dignity," Gandhi said in a Facebook post.

"We recognised that poverty and unemployment were significant barriers to development, and MGNREGA was conceptualised to address these issues head-on. It was a revolutionary step to empower the people by guaranteeing them a dignified basic minimum income," he added.

In the years since, the MGNREGA has stood as a shining example of India's strength, lifting 27 crore people out of poverty between 2005-06 and 2015-16, providing employment to millions more, and transforming infrastructure in rural areas, Gandhi said.

"Today, despite Prime Minister Modi's consistent criticism of the programme, he now relies on it while simultaneously undermining it. Budgetary allocations have been slashed to a 10-year low, over 7 crore workers' job cards have been deleted under the guise of AADHAAR and technology, payments to states have been delayed, and wages have been kept at abysmally low levels," the Congress leader alleged.

"Despite the government's failure to comprehend or support the potential of this visionary scheme, MGNREGA continues to represent our ongoing commitment to social justice and the empowerment of the marginalised," he said.

"It is through people-centric programmes like MGNREGA that we can truly fulfil the dream of an India that is strong, independent, self-reliant, and at the forefront of the world's nations," Gandhi said.