MOHALI: Reacting to the shocking news of nearly 27 lakh workers being removed from the MGNREGA database in just one month — from 10 October to 14 November — former Health Minister Balbir Sidhu termed it extremely alarming and called it a direct injustice to the poor working class. He said this action by the Central Government is a serious administrative failure and an anti-labour decision.
Balbir Sidhu accused the Centre of using e-KYC as a pretext to deprive crores of poor workers of their legal rights. Citing the LIBTECH report, he said that while only 15 lakh workers were removed in the last six months, cutting 27 lakh names in just one month makes it clear that this is not a “routine verification process, ” but a deliberate large-scale cleansing of the database.
He pointed out that the states with the best e-KYC records — such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh — are the ones where the maximum deletions have taken place. This makes the Centre’s process neither transparent nor trustworthy, but rather suspicious and biased.
Sidhu said that workers, already struggling under severe inflation, have suffered a massive setback. For them, MGNREGA was a crucial lifeline that ensured their daily livelihood.
Sidhu demanded that the Central Government immediately conduct an independent inquiry into all the deleted job cards, reinstate names that were removed wrongly, and halt this ruthless action being carried out under the guise of e-KYC. He said MGNREGA workers are the backbone of the rural economy, and any tampering with their rights will not be tolerated.
Balbir Sidhu said this reduction is a direct attack on the livelihood of rural families. The MGNREGA daily wage of ₹200–₹300 is a crucial source of income for them. Therefore, this is not merely data deletion — it is playing with the lives of lakhs of families.
He rejected the Centre’s claim that “this is part of a continuous verification process.” He asked how, if it was a routine process, 27 lakh workers could disappear in just one month. This clearly shows that the BJP-led Central Government is working on a plan to gradually reduce the budget and scope of MGNREGA.
Sidhu said that removing workers’ names is not merely curtailing one scheme — it is weakening the economic backbone of rural India. While workers rely on MGNREGA to support their household income, the government’s actions amount to a direct attack on the interests of the poor, Dalits, women, and unemployed youth.
He reiterated that MGNREGA is not a charity, but a legal right. Ending this right by citing digital errors or verification lapses goes against constitutional values. Instead of making complicated digital requirements for workers, the Central Government should have created accessible, human-centric processes.