Congress Plans Nationwide Stir Against Modi Government's 'Anti-Poor' Laws

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The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is set to convene on December 27 to discuss a nationwide protest against the Narendra Modi-led government's alleged dismantling of key labour and social welfare laws, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Rahul Gandhi have hit out at the government, accusing them of disrespecting national icons such as Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mahatma Gandhi during the winter session of Parliament. They have also condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G bill, which they claim is an attempt to dismantle MGNREGA and replace it with a rationed scheme controlled from Delhi. The Congress leaders have warned that the government's 'anti-poor' policies will continue to target labour rights, the Forest Rights Act, and the Land Acquisition Act, which have already undergone significant changes. They have vowed to stand with workers, panchayats, and states to defeat this move and build a nationwide front to ensure the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G bill. Rahul Gandhi described the bill as 'anti-state and anti-village by design', claiming that it was 'bulldozed through Parliament without proper scrutiny'. He accused the government of weakening labour, centralising power, and selling slogans as 'reform' to the detriment of the rural poor. The Congress has vowed to continue its fight against what they see as the Modi government's attempts to dismantle key social welfare laws and undermine the rights of the poor and marginalised.