New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi recently launched a scathing attack on the central government in an article published in a leading English newspaper. She alleged that the government is dismantling the rights-based legal framework through its proposed changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and other important laws.
In the article titled “Bulldozing MNREGA,” Sonia Gandhi stated that the weakening of the rural employment scheme is a collective moral failure, with long-term financial and human consequences for millions of working people across the country.
She wrote that MNREGA was not just a welfare initiative, but a rights-based program that provided livelihood security and dignity to rural families. According to her, the dismantling of the scheme is a “moral failure for everyone.” MNREGA fulfilled the Mahatma’s dream of Sarvodaya (welfare for all) and guaranteed the constitutional right to work.
Its demise is a collective moral failure. This will have financial and human consequences for millions of hardworking people in India for years to come. She wrote, “Now more than ever, it is essential that we unite and defend the rights that protect us all.” Sonia Gandhi further claimed that many fundamental rights are being systematically eroded.
Expressing concerns about education policy, she said, “The National Education Policy 2020 has weakened the right to education, justifying the closure of nearly 100,000 primary schools across the country.”
She also pointed out changes in environmental and land laws, saying, “The Forest Rights Act, 2006, has been significantly weakened by the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022. As a result, any role for Gram Sabhas in granting permission for land diversion has been removed.”
Sonia Gandhi said, “The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act has been significantly weakened,” and added that the National Green Tribunal has been “weakened” in the last few years.
Referring to agricultural reforms, she said, “Through the three black farm laws, the government has tried to deprive farmers of their right to a minimum support price and warned that the National Food Security Act, 2013, could be cut next time.”
