Agartala: Dec 19: A huge protest march and public meeting were organized today in Kadamtala market area by the 54-Kadamtala-Kurti Block Congress, opposing the central government’s recent decision to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the MGNREGA scheme. Thousands of Congress workers, supporters, and local residents turned the area into a sea of protesters.
Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary Abdul Basit Chowdhury, addressing the gathering, sharply criticized the BJP-led central government. He said the 2005 MGNREGA scheme, launched under then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Gandhi’s name, provided employment and hope to millions of rural poor. “The proposal to remove Gandhi’s name is not just a renaming it is a deliberate insult to the Father of the Nation and an attempt to erase Congress’s historical contributions,” he alleged.
Chowdhury also accused the government of misleading the public with promises of 125 days of work instead of the original 100, calling it a “deception” that undermines the scheme’s core purpose and hurts rural India’s spirit.
He emphasized Gandhi’s words: “The soul of India resides in its villages,” adding that citizens would never accept the removal of his name from a program designed for village welfare.
The meeting concluded with calls for larger future protests. Chowdhury announced a district-level rally on Sunday demanding the restoration of Gandhi’s name, urging party workers and the public to join the movement. Congress supporters ended the gathering with slogans against the central government and reaffirmed their commitment to protecting democracy under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
