Congress to hold Nyay Yatra in MP today over water tragedy, MNREGA changes
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Congress will hold a state-level Nyay Yatra (march for justice) on Sunday at 11 a.m. in Indore to protest the Bhagirathpura water tragedy and recent changes to MNREGA.
The march will begin at Bada Ganpati Temple and proceed to Rajwada Chowk near the statue of Maa Ahilyabai Holkar, party leaders said. Senior leaders, elected representatives, office-bearers, party workers and citizens are expected to participate.
Announcing the protest at a joint press conference at the State Congress Office in Bhopal, Former Minister PC Sharma, Bhopal City District Congress Committee President Praveen Saxena, and State Spokesperson Rahul Raj strongly criticised the BJP government.
Praveen Saxena termed the Bhagirathpura incident “government-sponsored murders,” alleging criminal negligence and administrative failure by the BJP government. He claimed twenty people died and over one thousand citizens fell ill due to poisonous water.
The Congress demanded the immediate removal of the Indore mayor, the resignation of Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya for what it called insensitive remarks to the press, and compensation of Rs 1 crore for families of the deceased instead of Rs 2 lakh. The party also called for a judicial inquiry and registration of culpable homicide cases against those responsible, stating the struggle would continue from the streets to Parliament until justice is delivered.
Targeting the BJP government and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, PC Sharma said Madhya Pradesh carries a debt of Rs 4 lakh crore from Chouhan’s tenure. He added that the new 60:40 ratio in MNREGA expenditure would impose an additional annual burden of Rs 5,000 crore on the state. He also said e-KYC verification is pending for 90.5 per cent of active MNREGA workers—the highest in the country—calling the policies anti-labour and accusatory of deliberately depriving the poor of their rights.
The Congress opposed the new law and demanded its immediate withdrawal by the Modi government, announcing it would intensify the Save MNREGA campaign from panchayats to the streets.
Rahul Raj accused Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of being the chief architect behind replacing MNREGA with the new act, calling it a direct attack on the right to work for the poor and “a murder of Gandhi’s ideals of Gram Swaraj.”
He said the law would add Rs 5,000 crore annually to the state’s existing debt of Rs 4.5 lakh crore. He criticised provisions to suspend work for 60 days during the harvest season, alleging it would force labour migration and cheap labour, and questioned whether MNREGA wages would now face delays similar to crop insurance payments.