NEW DELHI: Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Centre, accusing it of systematically bulldozing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and cautioning that its replacement would have "catastrophic consequences" for India's rural population.
Her remarks come days after Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Bill, commonly referred to as the VB-G RAM G Bill, amid strong protests by the Opposition.
In an article published in a leading national daily, Sonia Gandhi argued that MGNREGA, enacted in 2005 under the UPA as a rights-based legislation guaranteeing the constitutional right to work, was being effectively dismantled "without discussion, consultation or respect for parliamentary processes."