Raising serious concerns over recent changes affecting the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee leader Manuel Badwar on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led government, alleging that the move strikes at the very foundation of social justice, constitutional responsibility and rural livelihoods. Framing the issue as one that goes far beyond party politics, Badwar warned that the proposed changes would have deep and long-term consequences for villages across Meghalaya, particularly impacting the poorest households, women workers and children, while weakening grassroots democracy and village-level autonomy.
Addressing the issue, Badwar said, “We want to highlight especially for the public at large especially the public in Meghalaya, the rural belt in particular is that the BJP is trying to kill the soul of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA), it is some sort of an unforgivable attack into our Social Justice, the constitution and especially the poorest of the people and this is a direct attack to the poor people.” He underlined that MGNREGA was designed to guarantee employment as a legal right, stating that it “actually guarantees jobs for the rural belt, the rural population ensuring that come what may 100 days of job is something that is your right.” According to Badwar, the new framework shifts decision-making powers away from the people and villages, arguing, “it throws the power away from the public and it gives the power to the government and the government now will decide on so many things,” leading to the erosion of “the dignity of labour of the villagers, the strength of the villages, and the administrative power of the villages.”
The Congress leader further alleged that centralisation of budgets and approvals would disconnect policy from ground realities, noting that allocations would be decided “by Delhi who has no link and no understanding of the grassroots level of what is happening in those villages.” Warning of excessive bureaucratic control, he said decisions on whether funds are released or notified would rest entirely with the government, calling it “a very dangerous trend” that would result in “no efficiency” and “no Social Justice what so ever.” He also dismissed assurances of increasing workdays, stating, “while they say that they will increase the day from 100 to 125 days, but in reality, the number of days will definitely get reduced because they are curtailing on the budget.” Badwar cautioned that women in rural areas would be among the worst affected, migration to cities like Shillong would intensify, children could be forced out of schools, and nearly “15 lakhs people are under this umbrella” in Meghalaya alone. He warned of rising exploitative labour practices and debt traps, saying families could end up “slaves on their own land.” Emphasising that the protest is about survival and dignity rather than politics, Badwar said, “This is not just about politics, this is more to do with a livelihood of the millions of people who are living in Meghalaya,” and appealed to regional parties to unite and raise their voices against what he described as a grave threat to village life and social stability.
