Agricultural Workers' Unions Unite Against Attacks on MGNREGA and Voting Rights
MAJOR national organisations representing agricultural and rural workers have issued a united call for nationwide protests against the systematic attacks by the BJP-led government on the rights and livelihoods of the rural poor. In a joint meeting held on July 25, representatives of the All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU), Bhartiya Khet Mazdoor Union (BKMU), All India Rural Labourers Association (AIARLA), All India Samyukt Kisan Sabha (AISKS), and AIAKSU resolved to mobilise resistance across India to defend the constitutional and democratic rights of agricultural workers and rural communities.
The organisations alleged that the BJP’s so-called "double engine model" of development has effectively turned into a double-edged assault – targeting both the right to work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the fundamental right to vote. They stated that the ongoing attempts to dismantle MGNREGA represent not only an economic attack on the rural poor but also a social and political one, disproportionately affecting dalits, adivasis, and women.
Passed in 2005 following strong pressure from Left parties, MGNREGA was seen as a historic step towards ensuring livelihood security for rural populations across caste, religion, and gender. The organisations warned that any rollback of this Act is a direct attack on the most deprived and marginalised sections of Indian society and a betrayal of the constitutional values of social justice and equality. They condemned recent government actions as reflecting the "Manuvadi" mindset of the ruling party.
The unions highlighted four major ways in which MGNREGA is currently under attack. First, they pointed to stagnant budget allocations, noting no increase over the previous year despite rising demand for work. Second, they criticised the unilateral reduction of workdays by the centre without consulting states, calling it an assault on India’s federal structure. Third, they raised alarm over the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS), which has led to mass deletion of job cards and falling enrolment rates. Finally, they opposed the directive to limit spending to just 60 per cent of the annual allocation during the first half of the financial year – traditionally a peak season for rural work – saying this would severely restrict employment opportunities when they are needed most.
Another dangerous directive of the central government is the new attendance policy where all workers must click two photos: one at the beginning of the working day and another one at the end in order to receive a day’s wage. It is against the basic understanding of MGNREGA which should take into consideration the amount of work done and not the time spent. The unions demanded that the government should provide the payment based on the measurement of work and not on the amount of time spent, and condemned the policy as a betrayal of the Act’s founding principles.
The meeting also raised concerns about a new electoral threat to rural communities in the form of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process initiated by the BJP-led Election Commission in Bihar. Under the guise of removing so-called "foreigners" from voter rolls, the unions said the government is disenfranchising vast sections of the rural poor, including minorities, dalits, adivasis, women, and migrant workers. The agricultural workers and rural poor consist of the large number of migrants who are the ones getting most affected through the SIR. It is an attempt to take away the right to vote from the people who are most against them.
The organisations condemned both the economic and political disenfranchisement of rural populations, describing it as a coordinated effort to silence the most marginalised. They pledged to escalate resistance through awareness campaigns and mass protests across the country in the coming weeks.
The unions warned that this is not just about wages or work; this is about the soul of the Constitution. They called on the agricultural workers and rural poor to unite and rise to defend their fundamental rights from being stripped away.
