Modi govt bulldozed MGNREGA, says Sonia Gandhi, vows fight against new 'black law'
New Delhi (PTI): Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday accused the Modi government of bulldozing the MGNREGA, and asserted that the "black law" that seeks to repeal it will be defied by the lakhs of party workers across the country.
In a video message, she said that by weakening MGNREGA, the Modi government had attacked the interests of crores of farmers, labourers, and landless across the country.
She alleged that over the past 11 years, the Centre had ignored the interests of the rural poor.
Addressing the rural population, Gandhi said she vividly remembers the day 20 years ago, when Manmohan Singh was prime minister, and the MGNREGA Act was passed in Parliament by consensus.
ALSO READ: In PM’s absence, Bengal Guv launches national highway projects worth Rs 3,200 cr
The former party president said it was "such a revolutionary step," and became a means of livelihood for the deprived, the exploited, and the poorest of the poor.
She said, due to MGNREGA, migration in search of work came to a halt, a legal right to employment was provided, and gram panchayats were empowered.
"Through MGNREGA, a concrete step was taken towards realising the dream of an India based on Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj," she said.
"But it is a matter of great regret that just recently, the government ran a bulldozer over MGNREGA. Not only was Mahatma Gandhi's name removed, but the form and structure of MGNREGA was changed arbitrarily without any deliberation, without consulting anyone, without taking the opposition into confidence," the Congress leader alleged.
She said under the new law, who gets how much employment, where and in what manner, will be decided by the government in Delhi, which is far removed from the ground realities.
Claiming that the Congress had a major role in bringing and implementing MGNREGA, she said it was never a party-specific matter.
"It was a scheme connected to the national interest and the people's interest. By weakening this law, the Modi government has attacked the interests of crores of farmers, labourers, and landless poor in the rural sector across the country.
"We are all ready to counter this attack. Twenty years ago, I too fought to secure the right to employment for our poor brothers and sisters; today, I remain committed to fighting against this black law. All Congress leaders like me and lakhs of workers stand with you," Gandhi said in her video statement.
The Congress earlier claimed that it would take its fight against the repeal law to the grassroots.
Parliament on Thursday passed the VB-G RAM G Bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA.
The proposed bill that guarantees 125 days of rural wage employment every year was met with vociferous protests by the Opposition.
Defending the bill, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserted that it was needed to fix shortcomings in the old scheme.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it on Thursday.
The Opposition strongly protested the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the MGNREGA, and said that the government was putting the financial burden on states.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
