{"id":17425,"date":"2026-01-11T08:14:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T08:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/?p=17425"},"modified":"2026-01-12T04:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T04:12:16","slug":"congress-holds-district-wise-mass-hunger-strike-in-agartala-demanding-restoration-of-mgnrega","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/2026\/01\/11\/congress-holds-district-wise-mass-hunger-strike-in-agartala-demanding-restoration-of-mgnrega\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Holds District-wise Mass Hunger Strike in Agartala Demanding Restoration of MGNREGA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tripura, 10 Jan 2026: <\/strong>Under the initiative of the Tripura Pradesh Congress Sadar District, a district-level mass hunger strike was organized on Sunday at the foot of Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s statue near Agartala Circuit House as part of the \u201cMNREGA Bachao Sangram\u201d programme. The protest demanded the restoration of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). MLA Sudip Roy Barman and Tripura Pradesh Congress President Asish Kumar Saha were present at the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the gathering, MLA Sudip Roy Barman said that across India, the Congress party has launched a one-day hunger strike in every district under the direction of the All India Congress Committee to demand the revival of MGNREGA. He stated that the fundamental objective of the programme is to protect people\u2019s right to work, which, according to him, has been systematically taken away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He alleged that wages due to workers are being denied, additional financial burdens are being imposed on states, and the universal nature of employment under MGNREGA has been dismantled. \u201cEarlier, work was guaranteed in every panchayat and village. Now it has become selective and uncertain. Employment is being provided only in chosen areas. This is an attack on the people\u2019s rights,\u201d Roy Barman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further demanded that the newly introduced \u201cVB -G RAM G\u201d type schemes be scrapped and the original MGNREGA Act be fully restored. While he said that removing Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s name from the Act is an emotional issue that hurts the sentiments of the people, he stressed that the main concern is the loss of employment rights of the poor. \u201cThis hunger strike is primarily for the restoration of MGNREGA and the protection of people\u2019s right to work,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tripura Pradesh Congress President Asish Kumar Saha said that the \u201cMNREGA Bachao Sangram\u201d is a 45-day nationwide movement being observed across all districts of the country. As part of this programme, mass hunger strikes are being organized in every district, including in Tripura\u2019s nine organizational districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explaining the importance of MGNREGA, Saha said the Act was introduced in 2005 under the UPA government led by the late Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, with the inspiration of then Congress President Sonia Gandhi. \u201cThe law guaranteed 100 days of employment in rural areas and recognized the right to work as a legal entitlement. It also played a major role in rural asset creation and livelihood security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saha accused the central government of repealing the Act in the last parliamentary session and removing Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s name from the law, calling it an insult not only to the nation but also to the global legacy of Gandhi as a symbol of non-violence, democracy, and secularism. He alleged that this move was part of the ideological agenda of the BJP and RSS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further stated that the new scheme introduced by the central government lacks the universal character of MGNREGA and has centralized control over employment generation. \u201cEarlier, employment was guaranteed in every panchayat. Now the central government decides where and how work will be given. This creates discrimination and uncertainty, especially for tribal communities, Dalits, farmers, and other vulnerable sections,\u201d Saha said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Congress leader warned that the new policy framework poses serious obstacles to inclusive rural employment. \u201cThat is why we have launched this 45-day movement to demand the restoration of MGNREGA. Today\u2019s hunger strike is just the beginning. In the coming days, a much larger movement will be organized across the entire state,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme witnessed participation from Congress workers and supporters, who reiterated their demand for the immediate reinstatement of MGNREGA and the protection of the constitutional right to work for rural citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tripura Pradesh Congress organized a district-level mass hunger strike at Agartala Circuit House under the \u201cMNREGA Bachao Sangram\u201d programme, demanding the restoration of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). MLA Sudip Roy Barman and TPCC President Asish Kumar Saha accused the central government of curtailing people\u2019s right to work, making rural employment selective and uncertain, and imposing additional burdens on states. They opposed the new schemes replacing MGNREGA, alleging they lack universal coverage and weaken panchayat-level employment guarantees. The Congress leaders announced that the protest is part of a 45-day nationwide movement, warning of intensified agitation across Tripura if the Act is not reinstated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":17424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[4049,4001,4048,3218,4047,4044,4045,4046,996,314],"ppma_author":[1174],"class_list":{"0":"post-17425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tripura","8":"tag-agartala-protest","9":"tag-asish-kumar-saha","10":"tag-congress-hunger-strike","11":"tag-mahatma-gandhi","12":"tag-mgnrega-restoration","13":"tag-mnrega-bachao-andolan","14":"tag-rural-employment","15":"tag-sudip-roy-barman","16":"tag-tripura-congress","17":"tag-tripura-news"},"authors":[{"term_id":1174,"user_id":33,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kamaljamatia","display_name":"kamal jamatia","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/564a074770eb17d36f3af441d462b8a2a809599748f74220740b1d3b52879fcf?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Faguli.in%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F07%2FPHOTO-2023-09-14-08-30-32-3.jpg&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17425"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17426,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17425\/revisions\/17426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17425"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=17425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}