The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has initiated a statewide agitation in response to the repeal and renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The party accuses the central government of dismantling a vital rights-based livelihood program for rural areas in India. The agitation was launched by AICC secretary and MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka at Congress Bhawan, accompanied by NPCC president S Supongmeren Jamir and other senior leaders. Ulaka criticized the “undemocratic and hasty” passage of the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission–Gramin (VBG RAM-G) Act, alleging it replaced MGNREGA without adequate debate, thereby weakening its essential provisions. He further claimed that the central government has undermined MGNREGA over the past eleven years through delayed wage payments and insufficient funding, specifically noting that Nagaland has remained one of the states with the lowest wage rates without any adjustments in recent years. The proposed 45-day agitation will involve media conferences, symbolic fasts, outreach programs, submission of memoranda to district authorities, and rallies to garner public support for the employment guarantee scheme.
MGNREGA row: Nagaland Congress begins 45-day protest against repeal and renaming
