Centre’s MGNREGA Changes Won’t Work, Congress Will Move Court: DK Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday strongly opposed the Centre’s recent changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling them impractical, unconstitutional and detrimental to federalism. He warned that the Congress would challenge the decision both legally and politically, including through court action and street-level protests.

Addressing party workers and the media, Shivakumar said the Centre had fundamentally altered the spirit of MGNREGA by centralising decision-making and shifting a significant financial burden onto states without consultation. He said the revised framework undermines the role of local self-governments, especially panchayats, which earlier had the authority to plan and execute work related to water conservation and rural infrastructure.

“The new changes they have made to the employment guarantee programme will not work. This is impossible. Earlier, panchayats had the power to take up work related to water. Now Delhi will decide everything. No state can afford to bear 40 per cent of the expenditure,” Shivakumar said.

He accused the Centre of pushing through the changes unilaterally, without taking states into confidence. “If any such decision had to be taken, the Centre should have consulted the states. But without consulting us, they have gone ahead. We cannot agree to this. We will go to court, and we will also fight it out on the streets,” he said.

Shivakumar described MGNREGA as a lifeline for rural India and said diluting it would directly affect livelihoods, food security and rural stability. “MGNREGA is not just a scheme. It is the right to work and the right to live. It is a guarantee of employment that has sustained millions of families. Across the country, this move will not be accepted,” he said, adding that Congress would pass resolutions opposing the changes at district, division and state levels.

The Deputy Chief Minister also defended the National Herald newspaper amid criticism over government advertising. Calling it a party-owned publication with historical significance, Shivakumar said the newspaper played an important role during India’s freedom struggle. He rejected allegations of impropriety, stating that questioning the Congress’s commitment to democracy was politically motivated.

“It was the Congress party that fought for India’s independence. National Herald has a long history, and there is nothing undemocratic about supporting a party-owned publication,” he said.

On the political front, Shivakumar claimed that the Janata Dal (Secular) could eventually merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said such a development would politically benefit Congress by allowing a direct contest with the BJP, rather than triangular fights. “If the JDS merges with the BJP, it is good for us. The sooner it happens, the better,” he remarked.

Welcoming several JDS leaders into the Congress, Shivakumar said the move reflected growing dissatisfaction within regional parties. He also pointed to rising interest in Congress tickets for the upcoming Greater Bengaluru Authority elections, stating that hundreds of applications had already been issued across the proposed corporations.