Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Congress Committee (DCC) on Saturday, January 24, launched the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra, a three-day protest march aimed at opposing the alleged dilution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by the Centre.
The yatra began at Charminar and proceeded to Puranapul, with another leg of the march held from Singareni Colony in Yakutpura to Santosh Nagar X Roads.
The campaign is part of the Indian National Congress party’s nationwide movement to defend the constitutional Right to Work and resist changes that it claims threaten the very spirit of MGNREGA. Senior Congress leaders, including All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary Sachin Sawant and former Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President and former MP V Hanumantha Rao, participated, lending strong support to the local mobilisation.
Speaking at the event, senior Congress leader Hanumantha Rao said, “The Modi government is trying to destroy the soul of MGNREGA. The legal Right to Work, which empowered every rural family to demand employment, is being turned into a favour controlled by the Centre. This is not acceptable in a democracy.”
AICC Secretary Sachin Sawant raised concerns about wage insecurity under the new system. “Earlier, families could rely on minimum wages and seek work throughout the year. Now, with arbitrary wage-setting and no work during harvest season, rural labourers are being forced into low-paid and insecure jobs,” he said.
Hyderabad DCC President Syed Khalid Saifullah warned of the impact on grassroots governance. “The strength of MGNREGA was its decentralised approach through Gram Panchayats. Today, those powers are being taken away and handed over to contractors. Local workers are being reduced to cheap labour without rights or representation,” he stated.
He further added, “Forcing State Governments to bear 40 per cent of wage costs will discourage implementation. This is a direct attack on the poor, especially women and SC/ST families who depend on MGNREGA for survival.”
Calling MGNREGA a “lifeline” for rural India, the Congress leaders also passed a resolution in its support. They stated that the scheme had created over 180 crore person-days of work and nearly 10 crore public assets over two decades, while empowering gram panchayats through local planning. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, MGNREGA became the backbone of the rural economy. It is now under threat, and we must act,” they said.
The Hyderabad leg of the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra saw enthusiastic participation from party cadres, workers, and citizens. Placards, slogans, and speeches highlighted the importance of retaining the original structure and warned against centralisation and privatisation of rural employment programmes.
The yatra is being actively coordinated by Congress Assembly in-charges from various constituencies – Rajesh Kumar Pulipati (Bahadurpura), B. Nagesh (Chandrayangutta), Mohmmed Mujeebullah Shareef (Charminar), Shaik Akbar (Malakpet), and K. Ravi Raj (Yakutpura). Over the course of three days, the rally will pass through five major Assembly segments in the city – Charminar, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura, Chandrayangutta, and Malakpet – culminating on January 26.
