We will fight for the rights of laborers and the poor, from Parliament to the streets: MP Deepender Hooda

New Delhi, December 18, 2025: Member of Parliament Deepender Hooda along with MPs Jai Prakash JP, Varun Chaudhry and Satpal Brahmachari addressed a joint press conference here today; protesting against the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the MNREGA scheme and declaring their intention to fight for the rights of laborers and the poor, from Parliament to the streets.

MP Deepender Hooda said that they will not allow the government, run by capitalists, to crush the rights of the laborers. He said that when MP Varun Chaudhry asked a question in Parliament regarding MNREGA works, the answer revealed shocking information: more than 8 lakh MNREGA workers are registered and active in Haryana, but in 2024-25, only 2,191 families received 100 days of work. Moreover, the unemployment allowance stipulated under the MNREGA Act, which should be given if work is not provided on time, has not been given to a single worker in Haryana in the last five years. The Haryana government does not even have the money to pay unemployment allowance. When MP Jai Prakash asked questions to the government in Parliament regarding the VB G Ram G Bill; instead of answering the opposition's questions, the Parliament was adjourned.

The Rohtak MP said that removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from the MNREGA scheme is the true working style of the BJP. This government only believes in changing names, and not in doing work. If the BJP government wanted to introduce a scheme in the name of Lord Ram, they should have launched a new scheme. The BJP government's conspiracy to remove Mahatma Gandhi's name from MNREGA and dismantle the scheme is a great betrayal of the poor. This is not acceptable.

               MP Jai Prakash JP said that today will go down in history as a dark day. The government, displaying a dictatorial attitude, rejected the opposition's demand to send the VB G RAM G Bill to the Standing Committee. Questioning the government's intentions, he said that the Central Government is conspiring to weaken MNREGA and wants to abolish it. Jai Prakash asked for the reason behind removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from the MNREGA scheme, saying that Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan did not answer any of the opposition's questions during his entire speech. He also did not respond to the demand to link MNREGA with agriculture. The government imposed a financial burden on the states without consulting them, even though the states' financial situation is already precarious. Moreover, the government did not accept the Standing Committee's demand to increase the number of working days in the scheme from 100 to 150 days. Neither wages nor working hours were increased. Furthermore, the implementation of the scheme was restricted during the agricultural season, which is a great deception of the laborers.

MP Varun Chaudhry said that the answer given by the Ministry of Rural Development in response to his question in the Lok Sabha exposed the government's true intentions. The central government has also cut the MNREGA budget. Haryana was given Rs 764 crore in 2020-21, but this has been reduced to Rs 590 crore in 2024-25. The government is shirking its responsibility. MP Varun Chaudhry said that the BJP government is anti-poor, anti-farmer, and anti-village, which is why the Congress party is opposing this law, which goes against Gandhi's ideology. The provision in the VB G-RAM-G scheme to provide 100 to 125 days of work is the biggest and newest gimmick. Earlier, the Central Government paid the full wages of MNREGA workers, but now the Central Government will pay 60 percent and the state governments will have to pay 40 percent. No consent was taken from the states; it was imposed on them. This is against the federal structure. If you look at the financial management of any state, the debt is increasing. Where will the states get the money from? A centrally sponsored scheme has been turned into a centrally controlled scheme. Earlier, MNREGA was implemented in all rural areas, but now workers will get work only in the notified areas. He said that in this scheme, which has been introduced under a new name, the Central Government will also determine the budget allocation. Whereas earlier it was a demand-driven scheme. When the central government decides in advance that only a certain amount of money will be given, the entire burden will fall on the states. The VB G-RAM-G scheme should be linked to the agricultural sector, but the government has imposed a blackout period during which no work will be available under this scheme.