Five Left parties also dismiss the government’s claim of increasing guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days as a ‘jumla’
NEW DELHI — The Left Front, comprising five major parties—the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc, on Wednesday called for a protest across the country on December 22 against the BJP-led Union government’s proposed changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The parties reiterated the demand that the government should take back the bill in right earnest.
In a joint statement, the parties accused the Centre of seeking to “alter the basic character” of MGNREGA through the proposed Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB G-RAM-G Bill), which aims to replace the existing law. They said MGNREGA, enacted during the UPA regime under sustained pressure from the Left, is a universal, demand-driven programme that guarantees a limited legal right to work—an assurance they allege would be effectively dismantled under the new legislation.
According to them, the proposed legislation removes the Union government’s legal obligation to provide funds based on demand for work. They also dismissed the government’s claim of increasing guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days as a “jumla,” alleging that large sections of rural households would be excluded through the rationalisation of job cards.
The statement further criticised provisions that allow for the suspension of employment for up to 60 days during peak agricultural seasons, warning that such measures would deprive rural workers of employment when it is most needed and increase their dependence on landlords. Mandatory digital attendance, the parties said, has already caused significant hardships, including loss of work and denial of workers’ rights.
They also objected to proposed changes in the funding pattern, arguing that these shift the Centre’s financial responsibility onto state governments without giving them any role in decision-making. States, they said, would be forced to bear the burden of unemployment allowance and delay compensation, placing an unsustainable burden on their finances and diluting the Union government’s accountability.
Strongly criticising the renaming of the scheme from MGNREGA to G-RAM-G, the parties described it as an “affront to Mahatma Gandhi” and reflective of what they termed the BJP-RSS’s hostility towards his legacy.
Demanding the immediate withdrawal of the VB G-RAM-G Bill, the Left parties announced that protests would be held across the country on December 22. They also called for strengthening MGNREGA by making it universal and allocating sufficient funds to ensure at least 200 days of minimum employment.
The joint statement was issued by CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby, CPI General Secretary D Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, RSP General Secretary Manoj Bhattacharya and AIFB General Secretary G Devarajan.
