Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Congress Committee on Saturday launched the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra, a three-day protest march opposing what the party called the dilution of the rural job guarantee scheme by the BJP-led Central government.
The march started at Charminar and moved towards Puranapul. Later, party workers held another leg from Singareni Colony in Yakutpura to Santosh Nagar X Roads. Through this campaign, the Congress sought to defend the constitutional Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders AICC Secretary Sachin Sawant and former Pradesh Congress Committee president and ex-MP V. Hanumantha Rao attended the rally as chief guests. Their participation, party leaders said, strengthened the local mobilisation and linked it to the national campaign.
Hyderabad DCC president Syed Khalid Saifullah led the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra. At the same time, Congress Assembly in-charges Rajesh Kumar Pulipati, B. Nagesh, Mohmmed Mujeebullah Shareef, Shaik Akbar and K. Ravi Raj coordinated the march across different constituencies.
Congress leaders raise concerns during MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra
Addressing party workers, Hanumantha Rao said the Central government was weakening the legal foundation of MGNREGA. He stated that the guaranteed Right to Work empowered rural families earlier. However, he alleged that the Centre was now turning it into a discretionary benefit, which he said undermined democracy.
Similarly, Sachin Sawant highlighted wage insecurity under the present system. He said families earlier depended on assured minimum wages and regular work. Now, he added, irregular wage practices and lack of work during key seasons were forcing labourers into low-paid and unstable jobs.
In addition, Syed Khalid Saifullah warned about the impact on grassroots governance. He said Gram Panchayats earlier played a central role in planning and execution. However, he alleged that authorities were now shifting those powers away, weakening local accountability. He also said forcing States to bear 40% of wage costs would discourage implementation and harm women and SC and ST families.
Congress leaders described MGNREGA as a lifeline for rural India. They said the scheme generated over 180 crore person-days of employment and created nearly 10 crore public assets over two decades. Moreover, they said MGNREGA supported the rural economy during the COVID-19 pandemic when other income sources collapsed.
During the Hyderabad leg of the MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Yatra, party cadres and citizens participated in large numbers. Placards and slogans called for protecting the original structure of the scheme and warned against centralisation of rural employment programmes.
Several senior leaders, including Hyderabad Market Committee vice-chairman Kotla Srinivas and former PCC secretary Bheem Arjun Reddy, joined the protest. The yatra will pass through five Assembly segments in the city and conclude on January 26.
