Modi wants to do away with MGNREGA: Rahul in Raebareli
Raebareli (UP) (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday of seeking to centralise power and weakening welfare safeguards for the poor, alleging that the MGNREGA has been undermined and that Modi wants to do away with it.
Addressing party workers during a visit to Raebareli, his parliamentary constituency, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said the BJP-led Centre has "insulted" Mahatma Gandhi by replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with another law and, more importantly, withdrawing the security it provided to the marginalised.
He termed the move an attack on the roots of democracy.
Parliament on December 18, 2025, passed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, replacing the 20-year-old UPA-era MGNREGA and guaranteeing 125 days of rural wage employment every year.
The opposition had protested the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the new law and accused the Centre of putting the financial burden on states.
"The Congress is running a nationwide movement to protect the MGNREGA. We stand with labourers and are committed to protecting their rights," Gandhi said.
He alleged that Modi wants the country's wealth to be concentrated in the hands of industrialists like Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.
"On one hand, we are protecting the people, while on the other, Narendra Modi is diverting the country's wealth to a select few," he said.
The former Congress chief said the MGNREGA was introduced by the UPA government with the objective that no worker in the country should be forced to work for wages lower than the rates fixed under the programme.
He stressed that the scheme should not be run from offices in Delhi, Lucknow or by officials, but should be implemented at the panchayat level, with clear accountability of the village head.
"Financial decisions related to the MGNREGA should rest with the pradhans," Gandhi said.
He said Modi claimed in Parliament a few years ago that the MGNREGA did not benefit anyone and attempted to dismantle the scheme.
The Congress leader alleged that the prime minister wants to do away with the scheme now, so that the funds meant for workers are diverted to industrialists, such as "Adani and Ambani".
"The money that goes to labourers should not end up with big corporate houses," he said.
Gandhi pointed out that under the VB-G RAM G Act, the states will have to contribute 40 per cent of the funding.
He alleged that BJP-ruled states would not provide their share.
Gandhi reiterated that the MGNREGA is a panchayat-based programme and claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to dismantle a scheme that has protected poor workers.
He also accused the BJP of insulting Mahatma Gandhi and said the biggest issue is that the rights of poor labourers are being taken away.
The Congress leader said his party is organising programmes across the country in protest against this move of the BJP-led Centre.
Calling it a fight to protect the Constitution, he alleged that Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) want India to return to the pre-Independence situation, where people's land could be taken away and handed over to large corporate houses.
The Congress launched the "MGNREGA Bachao Sangram", a nationwide campaign demanding the restoration of the earlier law, on January 10. The campaign will be run till February 25.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi inaugurated a cricket tournament in Raebareli. The Congress leader, who was on a two-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, also met office-bearers and workers of the party.
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EU on cusp of historic trade deal with India: Ursula von der Leyen
Davos (PTI): The European Union is on the cusp of signing a historic trade agreement with India that is being called 'the mother of all deals', European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday, asserting it will create a market for 2 billion people or about one-fourth of the global GDP.
In a special address here at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, she said the real would crucially provide a first-mover advantage for Europe with one of the world's fastest-growing and most dynamic continents.
"Right after Davos, I will travel to India. There is still work to do. But we are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement. Some call it the mother of all deals," she said.
"Europe wants to do business with the growth centres of today and the economic powerhouses of this century.
"From Latin America to the Indo-Pacific and far beyond, Europe will always choose the world. And the world is ready to choose Europe," she said.
President of the European Council, Antonio Costa and von der Leyen will be in India from January 25 to 27 to grace the Republic Day celebrations as chief guests and hold summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two sides are set to announce the conclusion of negotiations on the much-awaited free trade agreement at the India-EU summit on January 27.
European Commission President said the EU is also working on a new free trade agreement with Australia.
"We are also advancing with the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, the UAE – and more," she added.
She also said Europe will always stand with Ukraine until there is a just and lasting peace.
The European Union is India's biggest trade partner, with bilateral trade in goods recording USD 135 billion in the financial year 2023-24. The free trade agreement is expected to significantly enhance trade ties.
The proposed agreement is expected to bring a qualitative change in deepening the overall bilateral ties in a range of sectors, as well as at a time when the world is witnessing trade disruptions in view of Washington's tariff policy.
Besides firming up the free trade agreement, the two sides are likely to unveil a defence framework pact and a strategic agenda at the summit.
India and the European Union have been strategic partners since 2004.
The ambitious FTA is being firmed up at a time amid increasing concerns over Washington's trade and tariff policies, which have impacted both India and the 27-nation EU.
India and the EU are also expected to unveil a joint comprehensive strategic vision that will govern their relationship for the period 2026-2030.
The EU and India had first launched negotiations for the free trade agreement in 2007, before the talks were suspended in 2013 due to a gap in ambition. The negotiations. The negotiations were relaunched in June 2022.
The proposed Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) will facilitate deeper defence and security cooperation between the two sides.
The SDP will bring interoperability in the defence domain, and it will open up avenues for Indian firms to participate in the EU's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) programme. The SAFE is the EU's Euro 150 billion financial instrument designed to provide financial support to member states to speed up defence readiness.
At the summit, India and the EU are also set to launch the negotiations for a Security of Information Agreement (SOIA). The SOIA is expected to boost industrial defence cooperation between the two sides.
