MAWKYRWAT: The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Thursday organised a public meeting at Mawkyrwat in South West Khasi Hills district to protest what it described as the systematic dismantling of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by the BJP-led Central Government and its proposed replacement with the VB-GRAMG scheme.
Addressing party workers and local residents, MPCC president Vincent H. Pala said the move amounted to a direct and deliberate attack on the rural poor, daily wage earners and job-dependent households in Meghalaya. He emphasised that MGNREGA is a legally guaranteed right to work, secured through sustained democratic struggle, and not a discretionary welfare programme that can be altered or withdrawn at will.
Pala alleged that any attempt to dilute or replace MGNREGA reflected the Centre’s indifference towards rural livelihoods, social security and its constitutional obligations. He warned that replacing a rights-based legislation with a scheme lacking statutory backing would severely undermine employment security in rural areas.
Speakers at the meeting highlighted the crucial role played by MGNREGA in sustaining thousands of families in South West Khasi Hills, particularly in remote and economically vulnerable regions. They contended that the proposed VB-GRAMG scheme lacks transparency, legal guarantees and assured days of employment, making it an inadequate substitute that prioritises optics over genuine rural empowerment.
MPCC vice president K. Lyngkhoi and MPCC secretary Manuel Badwar also addressed the gathering, cautioning that the weakening of MGNREGA was part of a broader pattern of systematically eroding pro-people legislations across the country. They urged citizens to remain united and vigilant against policies which, they said, were deepening rural distress and economic insecurity.
The meeting also witnessed several prominent individuals formally joining the Congress party. Those who joined included Denis Nongsiej, retired Joint Director, Education Department, Government of Meghalaya; Barister Thyrniang, former KHNAM candidate for the 2024 MDC elections; Sngaphunlang Kharlyngdoh, Assistant Lecturer at Laban Assamese Higher Secondary School; and Kordorlyne Kharlyngdoh, former vice president of the Trinamool Congress, Mawkyrwat.
Welcoming the new members, Pala said their induction reflected growing public disillusionment with what he termed opportunistic politics and a renewed confidence in the Congress as a party committed to workers’ rights, social justice and democratic accountability.
The meeting was attended by V. Syiemlieh, president of the District Mahila Congress Committee, Iengskhem Syiemlieh, president of the District Youth Congress, along with a large number of party workers and office bearers from the Mawkyrwat and Ranikor Block Congress Committees.
Reiterating its stand, the MPCC pledged to resist any attempt to weaken MGNREGA through sustained public mobilisation and democratic institutions, and announced that it would intensify its movement across Meghalaya to safeguard the rights, dignity and livelihoods of rural citizens.
