Congress's demonstration in Jammu and Kashmir on the issue of MNREGA. photo awakening
State Bureau, Jammu. Congress demonstrated in Jammu and Srinagar on Sunday in protest against the central government's decision to remove Mahatma Gandhi's name from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and bring in a new law by abolishing the law. The protest in Jammu was led by All India Congress Committee national spokesperson Surinder Singh Rajput.
The protest was organized in collaboration with the District Congress Committee Jammu Urban and Rural, led by Thakur Manmohan Singh and Thakur Hari Singh Chib. There was also a minor scuffle between the protesters and the police outside the party headquarters Shahidi Chowk Jammu. The workers raised slogans like 'India will not tolerate insult to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi'.
On this occasion, Surinder Singh Rajput made a sharp attack on the Modi government and said that the ideology of BJP and RSS does not accept the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, that is why Gandhi's name has been removed from MNREGA. He said that changing the name cannot eliminate Gandhi's ideology from the country. The new scheme will harm the economy of the poor and the working class and fail the concept of Gram Swaraj.
Acting Chief Raman Bhalla said that BJP is opposed to the thinking of Mahatma Gandhi, hence it has tried to end the country's most successful, pro-poor and laborer scheme MNREGA. He alleged that the proposed new scheme would be completely centralized, which would lead to additional financial burden on the states and have a direct impact on the livelihood of the rural poor.
Prominent leaders involved in the protest included Mularam, Ravinder Sharma, Ved Mahajan, GM Saroori, Majid Wani, Thakur Balbir Singh, Indu Pawar, Ashok Dogra and others. Meanwhile, a demonstration was held in Srinagar on the issue of MNREGA. The demonstration was led by State Congress President Tariq Hameed Kara. Congress workers were carrying out a peaceful march from the party headquarters, Srinagar, towards MA Road, but heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces stopped the march by erecting barricades on MA Road.
During this, there was a scuffle between the police and Congress workers. Due to police action, many senior leaders and workers including the State Congress President were stopped from moving forward. Despite heavy rain, a large number of Congress leaders and workers gathered at the party office and raised slogans against the BJP government's abolition of MNREGA and attack on democracy and democratic institutions in the country.
On this occasion, Tariq Hameed Kara said that the Congress Party will continue its struggle against the anti-people decisions of BJP-RSS. He said that the attempt to abolish MNREGA is a conspiracy to snatch the livelihood of the poor, which the Congress and the people of the country will never accept. Kara said that the decision to remove Mahatma Gandhi's name from the law is purely ideological and a conspiracy. He alleged that the new bill removes the legal right to rural employment and seeks to replace the demand-based employment guarantee with a centrally controlled scheme, which neither guarantees employment nor universal coverage. This is a direct attack on the right to livelihood of the poor. Many senior party leaders participated in the demonstration, including Surinder Singh Channi, MLA Irfan Hafeez Lone, former MLA Abdul Rahim Rather, Nisar Ahmed Mandu and others.