Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, along with his cabinet and Congress leaders, staged a major protest in Shimla on Monday against the central government's decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005. The demonstration, held near Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the Ridge, denounced the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, as "anti-rural and detrimental to the livelihood security of millions of rural households."
Congress Announces Statewide Agitation Against "Anti-People" Move
Leading a sit-in protest, CM Sukhu declared that the Congress party would launch extensive statewide protests at district and block levels to oppose what he termed the Centre's anti-people decision. He argued that the original MGNREGA, conceptualized by the Congress-led UPA government under Dr. Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, was pivotal for rural employment and inclusive growth. "Under the earlier framework, works were planned and executed based on resolutions passed by gram panchayats and gram sabhas, ensuring local participation," Sukhu stated. He criticized the new mechanism for sidelining panchayats through centralized planning and direct fund allocation by the Centre for selected areas.
Sukhu emphasized that Himachal Pradesh would be severely impacted. He explained that while the central government previously bore the full wage liability under MGNREGA, with the state adding an Rs 80 per day incentive, the new arrangement requires the Centre to cover only 90% of wages, shifting the remaining 10% burden to the state. "Thus, MGNREGA must continue in its original spirit, driven by panchayat demands and local development needs," he asserted. The Chief Minister also revealed that salaries for officers and employees posted in Zila Parishads under MGNREGA had been discontinued, which he warned would hamper the scheme's effective implementation.
BJP Counters: Accuses Congress of "White Lies" and "Political Gimmick"
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly criticized the Congress protest, labeling it "misleading, factually incorrect and aimed at confusing the public." BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan accused the Congress of spreading "white lies" by claiming MGNREGA was being scrapped. He clarified that the Centre introduced "a stronger and more comprehensive framework" where rural families would be entitled to 125 days of guaranteed employment, up from 100 days.
Mahajan highlighted that over Rs 1.51 lakh crore has been earmarked for the scheme, with more than Rs 95,000 crore coming from the Centre. "The new system will directly benefit panchayats and accelerate development works. Panchayat grading will ensure more resources for backward areas, helping reduce regional imbalance," he contended.
Former BJP state president and MLA Satpal Singh Satti called the protest a "political gimmick" to divert attention from the state government's administrative failures. He presented figures showing that while the UPA government spent about Rs 2.13 lakh crore on MGNREGA between 2006-07 and 2013-14, the NDA government had spent over Rs 8.53 lakh crore up to 2024-25, generating substantially higher employment. "If the Congress is genuinely concerned about rural welfare, it will focus on timely wage payments and work availability instead of staging protests," Satti remarked.
Wider Participation and Apple Duty Concerns
The Congress protest saw participation from a host of senior leaders including Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, HPCC president Vinay Kumar, several state ministers, MLAs, Shimla Mayor Surinder Chauhan, and Deputy Mayor Uma Kaushal.
In a related development, responding to media queries, CM Sukhu also expressed strong opposition to the Centre's decision to reduce import duty on apples. He warned that this move would severely impact apple growers in Himachal Pradesh and assured that the state government would take up the matter forcefully with the Centre to safeguard orchardists' interests.
The political clash underscores the deepening rift between the Congress-ruled state and the BJP-led central government over key policies affecting rural livelihoods and agriculture, setting the stage for intensified confrontations in the coming days.
