Labourers hold rally against new employment Bill

The MNREGA Adhikar Andolan Punjab, affiliated with Bhai Lalo Lok Manch, organised a rally of MNREGA workers at Punjabi Bhavan today.

Following the rally, participants marched and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu.

Addressing the gathering, Bhai Lalo Lok Manch convener and former MLA Tarsem Jodhan said that with the passage of the Viksit Bharat G-Ram-G Bill, the spirit of MNREGA considered one of the strongest pro-worker legislations globally has been undermined.

He alleged that the RSS influenced the government and it has not only changed the name of MNREGA but “killed its very soul.”

Jodhan further argued that under the new law, responsibilities earlier vested in gram panchayats and gram sabhas would be handed over to contractors, eroding local rights.

He described the legislation as another attack on the country’s federal structure, transferring powers from states to the Centre. Highlighting Punjab’s debt burden of over Rs 4 lakh crore, he said the state could not afford the new requirement of contributing 40 per cent of the MNREGA budget, compared to the earlier 10 per cent.

“This will only worsen rural unemployment,” he warned. Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal also addressed the rally, accusing the Centre of weakening federalism by stripping states of control over key sectors such as agriculture, education, electricity, and land.

He cited the state’s unresolved issues regarding the river waters, Punjabi-speaking areas and the BBMB as examples of how the state’s rights were being eroded. Both Jodhan and Rajewal appealed to Punjabis, farmers, workers, traders, students, and youth to launch a peaceful state-wide movements to defend their rights.

Other speakers included Bhai Lalo Lok Manch leaders Balkaur Singh Gill, Karan Singh Rana, and Keval Singh Hazara, Mazdoor Mukti Morcha leader Gobind Singh Chhajli, and MNREGA Adhikar Andolan Punjab leaders Charanjit Singh Himayunpur and Prakash Singh Hissowal.

They condemned the Viksit Bharat G-Ram-G Bill, the Electricity Bill 2025, the Seed Bill 2025, and the four labour codes, calling them “anti-worker and anti-farmer”. They warned that if these laws were not withdrawn, peaceful mass movements would be intensified to force the government to roll them back.