In a significant political move, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai has publicly pressured the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government to take a firm stand against the central government's proposed changes to a key rural employment scheme.
Call for Assembly Action Against VBGRAMG
On Sunday, Selvaperunthagai explicitly called upon the DMK-led state government to pass a formal resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly against the Union government's bid to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a new scheme named VBGRAMG. He stated that when the assembly convenes on January 20, the DMK government should bring forward this resolution, assuring that the TNCC will support it.
The TNCC leader made this demand while leading a hunger strike in Chennai against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government. He strongly criticized the move to scrap the scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi, framing it as an attack on a foundational social security program.
Congress Leaders Decry "Assault on Livelihoods"
The protest in Chennai was part of a wider wave of demonstrations held across Tamil Nadu, organized by the Congress party and led by its Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly. Adding his voice to the chorus, All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, took to social media platform X to articulate the party's position.
Chodankar emphasized that MGNREGA is not a favour but a legal right to work. He asserted that undermining this scheme constitutes a direct assault on the livelihoods, dignity, and future of workers. "The Congress will resist every attempt to weaken MGNREGA and will fight this injustice on the streets and in Parliament, across the nation," he declared.
Concerns Over Panchayat Powers and Rights
Further elaborating on the objections, Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil highlighted additional concerns with the proposed VBGRAMG. He argued that the new scheme does not merely remove Mahatma Gandhi's name but also strips away the rights and powers of local panchayat presidents. This, according to Congress leaders, centralizes control and undermines the grassroots democratic structure that MGNREGA was designed to work through.
The Congress party's coordinated protests and strong statements signal a readiness to make the protection of MGNREGA a central political issue, challenging both the central government's policy shift and testing the alliance dynamics within the opposition in Tamil Nadu.
