Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar Lead ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ Protest Over MGNREGA Repeal
Siddaramaiah emphasized that MGNREGA was a vital right for rural citizens, claiming the BJP's actions threaten local governance and employment opportunities.
By : PTI
Update: 2026-01-27 10:23 GMT
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, party MPs and MLAs on Tuesday took out a "Raj Bhavan Chalo" protest march over the "repeal" of MGNREGA.
The leaders marched towards Lok Bhavan, the official residence of the state Govenor, as part of the protest against the Centre's move to replace MGNREGA with VB-G RAM G, the new rural employment guarantee act.
The Congress leaders later boarded a government bus and proceeded to the Lok Bhavan, formerly Raj Bhavan, where they submitted a memorandum to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
During the protest, they alleged that the Union government was dismantling the rural employment guarantee framework and curtailing the rights of Panchayats.
Addressing protesters, Siddaramaiah said the word 'Ram' in VB-G RAM G was not Dasharath Ram or Seeta Ram. It stands for Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajivika Mission (Gramin).
He said the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was a right to livelihood and employment, introduced by the Manmohan Singh-led government, and accused the incumbent dispensation of trying to destroy it.
"MGNREGA was the right of the people, but not any more. Around five crore people, including the differently-abled, were getting employment in the rural areas. The Centre now wants to decide what work should be done, whereas earlier it was done by Panchayats," Siddaramaiah alleged, adding that the role of Panchayats had been severely curtailed.
The chief minister further claimed that each Panchayat was earlier getting around Rs one crore. Now they will be deprived of it.
"We will fight until VB-G RAM G is revoked and MGNREGA is re-established. VB-G RAM G does not guarantee employment the way MGNREGA did," he said.
Accusing the BJP of attacking rural India, Siddaramaiah said, "Gandhiji said unless villages develop, the nation cannot develop. By scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP has killed Mahatma Gandhi once again."
He called upon people for agitation in every village across the state.
Surjewala, who is also Congress' Karnataka in-charge, alleged that the Centre was bent on scrapping the rural employment guarantee scheme. "The Union government wants to dismantle MGNREGA. I urge the Karnataka government to rename Panchayat centres as Mahatma Gandhi Kendra."
Shivakumar warned of political consequences for the BJP, saying, "by scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP has invited trouble for itself. People in rural areas will not accept VB-G RAM G, and they will not pardon the BJP for repealing the employment guarantee law."