TN Secular Alliance Calls Statewide Protest Against Centre’s New Rural Employment Bill

Chennai, Dec 2025 : The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Tamil Nadu Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) has called for a statewide protest on December 24 against the central government’s newly enacted Develop India – Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025. The alliance claims the legislation effectively abolishes the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), dismantling a programme that has supported rural livelihoods for nearly 20 years.

SPA leaders have described the new law as a direct assault on rural communities, warning that it threatens workers’ wages, their days of guaranteed employment, and the core principle of assured work under the MGNREGA. The alliance accused the BJP-led central government of acting against the interests of the poor and condemned the AIADMK for “supporting” the Centre on the issue.

The protest will be organised simultaneously across Tamil Nadu at 10 a.m., including in Chennai, district headquarters, and gram panchayats. According to the SPA statement, party cadres, district secretaries, MLAs, and local body representatives will join the demonstration along with beneficiaries of the current 100-day rural employment scheme. The alliance urged all those dependent on MGNREGA to participate and mount a collective resistance to what it described as a damaging change to social security law.

The SPA argues that the new legislation places excessive financial responsibility on state governments and weakens essential employment safeguards. They say that legal provisions ensuring transparency in job allocation, timely wage payments, and accountability in implementation have been diluted, leaving rural labourers more vulnerable. The alliance also fears that the new framework could compromise long-term poverty alleviation efforts, destabilise rural incomes, and widen inequality.

Opposition to the VB-G RAM G Bill has been growing steadily in Tamil Nadu since December 18, when the state government sent a formal letter of objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, in his communication, expressed deep concern over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name, calling it a symbolic and ideological departure from the spirit of rights-based employment. He stressed that millions of rural workers rely on the MGNREGA, especially in Tamil Nadu, where the scheme has been widely used and efficiently implemented.

The DMK-led alliance said it views the December 24 protest as the first step in a larger political campaign to safeguard rural employment entitlements. With state-level dissent rising, the confrontation between Tamil Nadu and the Centre over the future of rural employment guarantees may intensify in the months ahead.

Team Maverick