BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 20th December 2025 : Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman has accused fundamentalist forces of insulting Mahatma Gandhi by renaming a flagship rural employment scheme.
Speaking at a press conference today, he said the fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh and India are no different, both symbolizing religious extremism and intolerance. He announced that in protest, the Pradesh Congress will launch statewide demonstrations tomorrow.
Roy Barman explained that the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) provides rural households, particularly unskilled laborers, with a minimum of 100 days of guaranteed employment each financial year.
He said that the scheme ensures livelihood security and supports rural infrastructure development. It is a key social security initiative of the Indian government aimed at generating employment in villages and alleviating poverty.
However, he alleged that the central government has abolished MGNREGA and replaced it with the “Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Bill, 2025”, passed in Parliament with a majority. He described the new legislation as “anti-labor” and “disastrous.”
Roy Barman highlighted that the most important feature of the original MGNREGA was its legal guarantee of employment to any adult rural applicant within 15 days of request, failing which the government had to provide unemployment allowance. He claimed that the new law has removed this provision, deliberately undermining workers’ rights.
Drawing parallels with the nationwide protests against the three contentious farm laws, which were eventually repealed due to public pressure, he warned that citizens across the country will mobilize to demand the withdrawal of the new law.
