Jaipur: The protest against the Centre’s decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat-Gramin Rozgar Guarantee (VB-GRAMG) scheme continued in Rajasthan’s Bhim town on Friday, with hundreds of workers affiliated with Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and Rajasthan Asangathit Mazdoor Union (RAMU) staging a demonstration and sit-in, alleging that scrapping MGNREGA is an attack on the legal right to employment of millions of rural workers.Workers of MKSS, RAMU and several gram panchayats held a demonstration in Bhim town before staging a sit-in in front of the office of Vikas Adhikari, Panchayat Samiti Bhim, demanding immediate withdrawal of VB-GRAMG and restoration of MGNREGA in its original form.The protesters alleged that since the launch of VB-GRAMG on July 1, workers seeking employment in gram panchayats including Kaladeh, Sameliya, Togi, Thaneta and Kukarkheda were not allowed to submit job applications nor were they issued receipts. Speakers at the protest termed this as violation of the legal provisions of MGNREGA, according to which workers have the right to demand employment and receive an acknowledgment of receipt of their applications.Announcing that the agitation would spread across Rajasthan, MKSS and RAMU said that the “Kaam Maango Abhiyan” would now be intensified at gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, district headquarters and state level to protect the right of workers to employment.Rajasthan Asangathit Mazdoor Union president Shankar Singh said, “MGNREGA is not a favor from any government, but a right won through the long struggle of the country’s workers. Ending it today and implementing VB-GRAMG is a direct attack on the livelihood and dignity of millions of rural families.”After the sit-in, the protesters presented a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Vikas Adhikari. They demanded immediate withdrawal of VB-GRAMG, a legal guarantee of at least 200 days of employment for every rural family, an increase in MGNREGA wages to Rs 800 per day, removal of technical barriers like the NMMS system and action against officials who allegedly refused to accept workers’ requests.
