Pics: Spoorthi Ullal

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jan 21: Strongly opposing changes to the name and structure of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Congress workers under the leadership of the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee staged a hunger strike on We dnesdayin front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Rajaji Park near the Town Hall here.

Addressing the protesters, District Congress Committee president K Harish Kumar alleged that the NDA-led Central government, by renaming the MGNREGA scheme, had “killed Mahatma Gandhi for the second time”. He said the Centre had altered the very essence of the Act, a move that would impose an increased financial burden on all states.

Condemning the changes, Harish Kumar said the protest was aimed at demanding that the original form of the MGNREGA Act, enacted during the UPA regime, be retained. To create public awareness on the issue, he announced that a 100-kilometre padayatra would be undertaken from Sullia to Mulki in Dakshina Kannada district from February 9 to 12.

Senior Congress leader Ramanath Rai, speaking on the occasion, said that during the tenure of the UPA government, several pro-people legislations were introduced, including the Food Security Act, MGNREGA, Right to Information Act, and Right to Education Act.

He asserted that Congress had never caused hardship to the poor, Scheduled Castes, or minorities in the country, adding that if anyone had been affected, it might have been landlords and capitalists. “The Congress party has always functioned with a pro-people ideology,” he said.

Rai also criticised a recent incident during the Paryaya celebrations at Sri Krishna Mutt in Udupi, stating that it was inappropriate for the district administration to hoist a saffron flag during a religious programme. He said the display of a politically motivated flag at a temple event deserved strong condemnation.

Addressing the gathering, MLC Ivan D’Souza said the Central government, by amending the guidelines of the MGNREGA scheme—which had provided employment to nearly 18 crore people —had dealt a severe blow to the livelihoods of the rural poor. He alleged that the government, unable to tolerate Mahatma Gandhi’s name being associated with the Act, had removed it and renamed the programme as Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025, with the intention of creating emotional sentiment by invoking the name of Ram.