Bhubaneswar, January 19: Odisha Congress, under the leadership of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan (RGPRS), held a satyagraha at Lower PMG Square on Monday to protest the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with the new VB–G RAM–G scheme.

During the demonstration, the protestors submitted a memorandum to Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, urging the restoration of MGNREGS.

RGPRS National Chairman Sunil Panwar, along with other Congress leaders, criticized the new scheme for undermining the legal rights of rural workers. Panwar accused the BJP government of dismantling MGNREGS and replacing it with a non-statutory scheme that lacks the legal guarantees of the original program. He expressed concern that the new scheme could be withdrawn at any time, leaving workers vulnerable.

Panwar also raised alarm over the reduction of Panchayati Raj powers and reduced central funding, stressing that weaker states may struggle to fund rural employment initiatives. Congress leaders have called for the immediate rollback of the VB–G RAM–G scheme and a return to MGNREGS in its original form.