New Delhi– Congress leaders and several Opposition MPs on Thursday staged a protest inside the Parliament complex against the reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The protest march began from the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and proceeded towards the Makar Dwar, with MPs raising slogans and carrying placards asserting that Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy should not be diluted. Posters displayed during the protest read, “Will not tolerate the disrespect of Mahatma Gandhi” and “Mahatma Gandhi ka apman nahi sahenge, nahi sahenge.”
The demonstration was led by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, along with MPs from parties of the INDIA bloc. Opposition leaders alleged that the government was attempting to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s name from a landmark rural employment law, which they said had transformed rural livelihoods and guaranteed the right to work for millions across the country.
Opposition MPs argued that any move to rename MGNREGA would amount to an ideological attack on both Mahatma Gandhi and the constitutional commitment to social welfare. They maintained that the scheme symbolises inclusive development and empowerment of rural India.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Centre of undermining both Gandhi’s legacy and the rights of the poor. In a post on X, Kharge said the government had insulted the Father of the Nation and weakened the Right to Work that brought socio-economic change to villages. He added that the Opposition would continue its fight against what he termed the authoritarian approach of the ruling dispensation, both inside Parliament and on the streets.
