Congress has indicated that in the coming days Central government A new and widespread conflict is about to take shape in the country’s politics regarding the KG Ram Ji Law. This time the party does not want to be limited to just political opposition.
Rather, by making the village-poor and farmers-laborers the pivot of the movement, it is preparing the outline of a social mass movement whose echo will be heard more in the streets, panchayats and farms-barns than in the Parliament. The strategy is clear, to bring the government under public pressure on the lines of the movement for withdrawal of three agricultural laws.
The Congress leadership believes that the effect of the new Ji Ram Ji Act that replaced MNREGA is not just a policy change, but it is a step that will deeply affect the socio-economic structure of rural India. For this reason, while avoiding giving a purely political color to its movement, the party is preparing to include labor organizations, farmer unions, panchayat representatives and social organizations in it. There are indications that with the beginning of the new year, the series of protests, meetings and marches will intensify across the country.
There has been a special discussion within the Congress that the form of protest should be such that the voice of the rural poor remains at the centre. Party strategists believe that if the narrative of the movement is limited only to Parliament or political forums, then its impact may be limited. Therefore, emphasis is being laid on making the village-poor, farmers-laborers and rural women the main forces of the movement. This is why the meeting of the Congress Working Committee on December 27 is being considered very important, where the outline, program and timeline of the movement will be given final approval.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had made it clear on the last day of the winter session of Parliament that Congress is not going to back down on this issue. He had said that MNREGA has been one of the most successful poverty alleviation and empowerment programs in the world and the government cannot eliminate the last hope of the rural poor. Rahul Gandhi also indicated that this fight will not be fought only by the Congress but will be a joint fight with the workers, panchayats and states.
After Parliament, now road strategy
After Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders lodged a strong protest against the Ji Ram Ji Bill inside the Parliament, the party has now decided to intensify the struggle outside the House. In this context, Sonia Gandhi recently made serious allegations against the government through an article. He said that through the Ji Ram Ji Act, the central government is weakening the states and excessive centralization of power. According to Sonia Gandhi, the effect of abolishing MNREGA could prove to be disastrous on crores of families in rural India.
In his article he also reminded that MNREGA implemented Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Sarvodaya and gave actual shape to the constitutional right to work. He said that today more than ever, it is important for citizens to unite and protect those rights which provide security to the weakest section of the society. Describing the new law as a collection of bureaucratic provisions, he said that this will destroy the very soul of employment guarantee.
Rahul Gandhi’s direct attack
While sharing Sonia Gandhi’s article, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the government. He said that neither public dialogue took place, nor adequate discussion in Parliament nor consent of the states was taken. According to Rahul Gandhi, the government has bulldozed not only MNREGA but also democratic processes. Calling it not development but destruction, he said that crores of hardworking Indians will have to pay the price by losing their livelihood.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has also made it clear that the party will announce an organized and public campaign against the Ji Ram Ji Act. According to him, this movement will not be limited to protests only, but dialogue, public meetings and social participation will be kept at the center.
There will be a big meeting of Congress on 27 December
The movement program will be finalized in the December 27 meeting of the Congress Working Committee. The model of the movement will be like the mass movement during the withdrawal of agricultural laws. Village-poor and farmers-laborers will be made the central axis of the movement.
Signals the start of nationwide protest programs from the New Year. Overall, Congress has prepared for a long and decisive fight regarding the Ji Ram Ji Act. The question now is not whether there will be a movement or not, but how widespread this struggle will be and how much pressure it will be able to put on the government.
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