Siddaramaiah Calls Proposed MGNREGS Modifications Anti-Poor, Launches Statewide Agitation

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has vehemently criticised the Narendra Modi administration's proposed alterations to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), contending that efforts to modify the programme's name and operational structure reveal a profound disdain for the economically disadvantaged sections of society as well as for the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi himself.

Siddaramaiah characterised the decision as fundamentally anti-people, asserting that it effectively deprives the poor of vital livelihood support, constitutes an affront to the principles embodied by Bapu, and imposes severe financial constraints on state governments through cost-sharing mechanisms. He announced that the Congress party in Karnataka will launch a comprehensive statewide agitation to mobilise public opposition against these changes.

The Chief Minister called upon the lakhs of beneficiaries who rely on MGNREGS for employment and income security to actively defend the scheme in its unaltered original form, urging them to transcend partisan divisions and compel local Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to vocally resist the perceived injustice in national forums.

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Highlighting a significant structural shift, Siddaramaiah pointed out that the NDA government has deviated from the longstanding practice of bearing the full expenditure of the scheme by transferring nearly 40% of the financial burden to state governments, thereby undermining the fiscal autonomy of states and complicating the delivery of rural welfare guarantees.

Furthermore, the Karnataka leader alleged a recurring pattern under the current Union dispensation of superficially rebranding or repackaging more than 25 flagship welfare programmes inherited from previous regimes—such as the transformation of Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan into Swachh Bharat Mission—without substantive enhancements to their scope, efficacy, or foundational objectives, suggesting a prioritisation of nomenclature over meaningful developmental progress.

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