Sonia Gandhi:  the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), launched a scathing attack on the PM Narendra Modi-led government on Saturday, calling it a “assault on rural livelihoods” and accusing it of routinely operating a “bulldozer” over the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and undermining the rights of rural poor, farmers, and landless workers.

This occurs two days after the VB-G RAM G Bill 2025 was approved by Parliament, sparking a heated political battle between the opposition and the administration.

Gandhi remembered the historic job guarantee law’s enactment over 20 years ago, under the leadership of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, in a video statement posted by the Congress on X.

She said that MGNREGA, which was enacted by Parliament with widespread support, was a “revolutionary step” that gave crores of rural families—especially the most disadvantaged and marginalized—security for their livelihood.

Gandhi said that the program reflected Mahatma Gandhi’s goal of Gram Swaraj and that “the law stopped distress migration by ensuring employment in one’s own village, strengthened gram panchayats, and gave a legal right to work.”

She pointed out that during the COVID-19 epidemic, MGNREGA provided the impoverished with a lifeline.

The Congress lawmaker, however, said that the Modi administration has repeatedly tried to weaken the plan during the previous 11 years while disregarding the needs of the poor and jobless in rural areas.

She said that recent unilateral modifications to the program had caused her “deep anguish.”

“The government has changed the very structure of MGNREGA without consulting, discussing, or consulting the opposition.” Sonia Gandhi said that even Mahatma Gandhi’s name has been eliminated.

She cautioned that choices are being made “from Delhi, far removed from ground realities” on who gets hired, how much is given, and where.

Gandhi emphasized that MGNREGA was never a party-specific program, stating that while the Congress was instrumental in enacting the legislation, its purpose was always to serve the public and national interest.

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Gandhi said that the Congress was ready to fend against what she saw as an attack on rural livelihoods. She said that Congress leaders and workers were solidly in solidarity with the people, saying, “I fought for the employment guarantee law 20 years ago, and I remain committed to fighting this ‘black law’ today.”