Congress Plans Siege on UP Assembly Over MGNREGA and Market Demolitions

In a bold move, Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai declared that Congress workers will lay siege to the State Assembly. Their protest will highlight contentious issues such as the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and ongoing market demolitions.

Rai emphasized the solidarity among party members, stating that representatives from all districts have arrived in Lucknow, prepared to stand in protest. "We've all been lodged in the State Committee office, having spent the night here, ready to make our voice heard," he affirmed. This demonstration is expected to draw large numbers, driven by grievances over withheld wages, the potential scrapping of MGNREGA, demolition concerns, and perceived regional discrimination.

This protest comes in the wake of a nationwide strike, uniting India’s workers and farmers against central government policies deemed anti-labor and anti-agricultural. Prominent trade unions and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha joined forces, contesting policies from labor codes to privatization. As they rally around slogans demanding government accountability, the Congress in Uttar Pradesh aims to amplify this growing discontent.