Kadapa – Andhra Pradesh: Rayalaseema Communist Party (RCP) Chintakommadinne Mandal Secretary Madagalam Prasad also staged a protest during the Bhogi bonfire, condemning what he described as the effective abolition of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
He said MNREGA had provided stable employment and income to rural families, allowing them to live with dignity, especially during festival seasons.
Fear of migration, hunger, and poverty
Prasad warned that replacing MNREGA with the G Ram Ji scheme would halt rural development and push people back into migration, hunger, and poverty. He alleged that the new scheme lacks financial commitment and seriousness.
Demand for employment guarantees
Accusing the Centre of merely renaming schemes while cutting real support, Prasad demanded that if the government were sincere, it should fund the scheme with at least 90 per cent central assistance and fulfil promises such as direct financial support to poor families. He also called for the introduction of an Urban Employment Guarantee Act.
Ravi, Pullayya, Anjaneyulu, Auto Ravi, Pavani, Sravanthi, Amrutha, Prasanna, and Pawan participated in the protest.
