CPI(M) MP K Radhakrishnan Slams Centre’s “Anti-Poor” Move to Weaken MGNREGA

New Delhi: CPI(M) Lok Sabha leader K Radhakrishnan strongly criticised the Union government in the Lok Sabha for attempts to weaken the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling the proposed changes “anti-poor and politically motivated.”

Radhakrishnan said that both the renaming of the scheme and the shift of a major portion of its financial burden to the states are part of a deliberate effort to dismantle the program, which serves as the sole lifeline for lakhs of Indian citizens. Under the new amendments, states would have to contribute 40 per cent of the scheme’s funding, a requirement he argued would impose an unmanageable financial burden on the states and effectively halt the scheme’s implementation.

He also denounced the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the program, describing it as politically motivated. “The forces that assassinated Gandhi on January 30, 1948, are now trying to erase even his name from the scheme. The Centre is disregarding Gandhian values and the progress of rural India,” Radhakrishnan said.

Highlighting Kerala’s example, he noted that the state has successfully implemented both rural and urban employment schemes, contributing significantly to poverty alleviation. Kerala’s recent achievement of eliminating extreme poverty, he said, was made possible by effectively utilising the opportunities provided by employment guarantee programs.

Radhakrishnan urged the Centre to withdraw the proposed amendments, warning that they would cause immense hardship for millions of poor families across India.