ANANTAPUR : Commemorating 20 years of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), APCC chief YS Sharmila Reddy held a Rachabanda programme at Bandlapalle village, the historic location where MNREGA was launched on February 2, 2006.
From this symbolic village, the APCC chief launched the Upaadi Haami Parirakshana Yatra, a State-wide outreach initiative that will traverse Andhra Pradesh over the coming weeks.
The yatra seeks to mobilise rural communities, MNREGA workers, and job card holders to defend the employment guarantee programme that has ensured livelihood security for crores of families, and remains a cornerstone of rural welfare.
Addressing villagers and MNREGA workers, Sharmila highlighted how Upaadi Haami, as MNREGA is popularly known in Andhra Pradesh, empowered rural households by guaranteeing dignified work and timely wages.
She warned that recent policy changes threaten to weaken this hard-won right. The APCC chief expressed grave concern over what she described as deliberate attempts by the Modi government to dilute MNREGA through the enactment of the VB-G RAM G Act.