Members of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha staging a protest outside the Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat office on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Activists of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) staged a protest outside the Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat office on Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of the proposed Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-GRAM G) and the continuation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in its existing form.Carrying red flags and raising slogans, the protesters alleged that the proposed scheme would undermine the livelihood security of rural labourers and weaken the employment guarantee framework that has supported millions of workers across the country.Led by KPRS district president Sharanabasappa Mamshetty, the protesters submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister of Karnataka and the State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister through the Chief Executive Officer of the Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat.Addressing the gathering, Mr. Mamshetty said that the MGNREGA was conceived as a rights-based programme to prevent distress migration by providing employment opportunities to rural workers within or near their villages. He said the scheme had played a crucial role in Kalyana Karnataka by reducing seasonal migration of labourers to Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and several parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during periods of agricultural inactivity.“The MGNREGA has served as an economic lifeline for rural households. Any attempt to replace it with a scheme that dilutes the legal guarantee of employment would adversely affect the poorest sections of society and weaken rural livelihoods,” he said.The KPRS expressed concern over reports that the new scheme could be introduced from July and urged the Union government to retain and strengthen the MGNREGA instead of replacing it.The organisation demanded that the annual employment guarantee under the scheme be enhanced from 100 days to 200 days per household and that wages be revised in line with the rising cost of living. It also called for the immediate clearance of pending wage payments due to workers.Warning of intensified agitation if their demands were ignored, Mr. Mamshetty said the organisation would continue democratic protests across the region until the proposed changes were withdrawn and the employment guarantee framework was protected. Published - June 06, 2026 07:11 pm IST
