Hyderabad: Chief Minister Revanth Reddy made a strong statement regarding the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), asserting that any conspiracies aimed at undermining the program will not be tolerated. Speaking at a large meeting held at Gandhi Bhavan on Thursday under the leadership of TPCC President Mahesh Kumar Goud, the Chief Minister sharply criticized the policies of the central government.
In his address, Reddy highlighted that approximately 80 percent of the country’s 1.4 billion population relies on the employment guarantee scheme for their livelihoods, emphasizing its role in enhancing the dignity of the poor. He pointed out that the Telugu states have been pivotal in the design and implementation of this program. He recalled Rahul Gandhi’s fight against the anti-farmer laws introduced by the Modi government and noted that Gandhi ultimately succeeded in getting those laws repealed after apologizing to farmers.
Revanth Reddy further declared that the struggle to restore the employment guarantee scheme would continue. He pledged to make the Modi government apologize to the nation for its actions. He called for gram sabhas (village assemblies) to be conducted from the 20th to the 30th of this month, urging participants to pass resolutions against the new laws. The Chief Minister suggested that MLAs and ministers take responsibility in their respective constituencies and announced plans to appoint an in-charge for each mandal, with Reddy himself taking on a mandal’s responsibility.
From February 3, large public meetings will be held across nine districts, where Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi will be invited to speak at the Mulugu meeting. He urged state MPs to express their dissent on the first day of Parliament’s budget session. Reddy raised concerns about the SIR (Socio-Economic and Caste Census), claiming that it is part of a larger conspiracy by the central government to remove voting rights from the poor, thereby stripping them of their identification and welfare benefits.
He expressed worries that if voting rights are taken away, it would also lead to the loss of Aadhaar and ration cards, ultimately denying families access to government welfare schemes. He accused the BJP of trying to enslave the poor by removing their voting rights under the guise of the SIR. Reddy emphasized the need for the Congress flag to fly high in all municipalities during the upcoming elections, urging everyone to work towards this goal.
He expressed his commitment to personally campaign door-to-door, stating that he owes his position as Chief Minister to the Congress party, which has always supported Telangana. Reddy stressed the current hardships faced by the country and asserted that Rahul Gandhi is needed as prime minister in these trying times.
Mahesh Goud, addressing the gathering, announced that the party would intensify its movement against the VBG-Ramji Act across the state, in line with AICC directives. He called for gram sabhas to be held in all villages between the 20th and 30th of this month, urging the distribution of pamphlets to ensure they reach every household. Goud directed that every DCC must conduct gram sabhas opposing the VBG-Ramji Act.
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka criticized the BJP’s governance, claiming it poses a greater threat than colonialism, while also alleging a concerted effort by the central government to dismantle MGNREGA. He recalled that although many movements occurred during the independence struggle under Gandhi’s leadership, he was never attacked, yet those with RSS ideology assassinated him shortly after independence.
Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy noted that MGNREGA has provided dignified employment opportunities to the poor in rural areas, attributing this to the hard work of Sonia Gandhi in enacting the legislation that guarantees work rights for the needy.
