ED moves HC against dismissal of its case against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate Friday moved Delhi high court challenging a trial court’s Dec 16 order that dismissed its prosecution complaint (equivalent to a police chargesheet) against Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and others, in the National Herald laundering case. The criminal revision petition is likely to be listed for hearing next week. ED contended that Special Judge Vishal Gogne overlooked critical evidence of money laundering while holding that cognizance of the agency’s complaint in the case was “impermissible in law” since it was based on a private complaint filed by BJP’s Subramanian Swamy and not on any FIR for an offence listed in the schedule to Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The trial court observed that despite receiving Swamy’s complaint and consequent summoning order in 2014, CBI had refrained from registering an FIR. “However, ED went ahead with recording an ECIR relating to money laundering on June 30, 2021, when no FIR (with CBI or any other law enforcement agency) existed in relation to the scheduled offence,” the court added. The agency has accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, along with late Congress functionaries Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, as well as Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian Private Ltd. (YIL), in which Sonia and Rahul are majority shareholders, of conspiracy and money laundering. ED alleged that they acquired properties worth Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which publishes National Herald newspaper. In 2010, YIL acquired AJL’s debts from Congress for Rs 50 lakh, thereby taking control of AJL’s properties. In 2014, ED began probing the financial transactions among Congress, AJL, and YIL, and accused Sonia, Rahul, and other Congress functionaries of conspiring to usurp AJL’s assets. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Rahul Gandhi engages with Indian diaspora in Germany
Amritsar: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi held a series of high-level meetings during his visit to Germany on Friday. He met former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German environment minister Carsten Schneider, discussing a wide range of issues of mutual interest. In addition, Rahul Gandhi also interacted with leaders of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) as part of his overseas engagement, informed Rajwinder Singh, Convener of the Indian Overseas Congress (Europe) over phone from Berlin. Rajwinder informed that Rahul Gandhi held in-depth discussions on global affairs, international trade, and several bilateral issues. He said special emphasis was laid on strengthening Indo-German relations amid the current global challenges. IOC chairperson Sam Pitroda along with other IOC leaders, also accompanied Rahul Gandhi during his German visit, which began on Dec 15 and will conclude on Dec 20. According to IOC Convener Europe, Rahul Gandhi also expressed concern over the declining state of manufacturing in India and stressed the importance of boosting domestic production to strengthen the country’s economic foundation. In a separate meeting with German environment minister Carsten Schneider, Rahul Gandhi discussed the shared global challenge of climate change. Both leaders exchanged views on the urgent need for sustainable, people-centric solutions to address environmental concerns and ensure a secure future, said Rajwinder. Providing further details of the visit, Arathi Krishna said that Rahul Gandhi held a detailed meeting with IOC leaders from across the world. During the interaction, discussions were held on the IOC’s roadmap for 2026–27, and plans were finalised for key upcoming events in the United Kingdom and the United States. She added that Rahul Gandhi also addressed the Indian diaspora at the “Connecting Cultures” event organised by the IOC. The interaction highlighted a strong cultural bond and meaningful engagement with Indians living abroad. Arathi further informed that during the event, Rahul Gandhi emphasised that the Congress party stands firmly in defence of truth and democratic values. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
When RSS-Modi Attack Macaulay and English, They Attack Upward Mobility of Dalits, Shudras, Adivasis
The upper caste and the rich can continue to learn English in expensive private institutions, it is the Bahujans who will suffer. The Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have opened another front of attack on the future of the Dalit/Shudra/Adivasis. This front has nothing to do with Muslims. In a certain sense, though it appears anti-Christian, it does not affect the future of Christian population of India, which is very small in number. This front is English education. Though their attack appears to be on colonialism and Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay, it is fundamentally against the English education of the Dalit/Shudra/Adivasis, who are slowly getting English education and hoping to compete with the upper castes in all states and at the national level. English is also enabling them to enter into global markets. This language came into their life through Mahatma Phule, Savitribai Phule and Dr. B.R Ambedkar, not through Macaulay. It was Ambedkar who gave them the confidence with unparalleled command over English in India during the freedom struggle and in writing books and the constitution. He had shown the oppressed castes that this language can become a tool of their liberation from their historical slavery. Sanskrit was used as a tool to enslave the Dalit/Shudra forces with a design for millennia. English became a counter weapon in the hands of the oppressed and exploited castes. Now the RSS/BJP, is systematically using an OBC Narendra Modi, as the prime minister, to deny English to these castes. I, as a first generation writer in English from a Shudra shepherd community, know the power of English as a liberative language. For us it is not a Macaulay language but an Ambedkar language. It is an Indian and Dalit-bahujan liberation language. Why it is not a Christian language The Telangana social, economic, educational, employment, political and caste survey has shown that though the Christian population is very small in terms of numbers, its English education level is as higher as that of Brahmins, Reddys and Kammas. Perhaps that is because the church system established English medium schools along with churches in several places. However, for them it was a language of job either in India or abroad or of prayer. No Christian scholar of India used it as a liberative tool as Ambedkar, who was not a Christian. For him it was a language that could change the life of the oppressed and exploited people in future. It is also a fact that not many Shudra/OBCs have become Christians and hardly send their children to Christian English medium schools. Some upper castes, particularly Brahmins have become Christian and most Hindu upper castes sent their children to learn that language in Christian schools. Brahmins, Banias, Kayasthas, Khatris and Kshatriyas are the most English educated elite in contemporary India. They have also not used that language as a tool of liberation from caste oppression. Of late, the Shudra-OBCs are realising that Ambedkar’s English writings have helped them to gain the reservation benefits and also the importance of learning the English language. The Telangana caste survey has shown that the most backward in the English education parameter are Adivasis/Dalits and OBCs in that order. According to the Telangana castes survey, Iyers and Iyyangars (they are shown as a separate caste group in the survey) and the Brahmins of the state are most English educated. The highest private school education so far is acquired by Iyyangars/Iyyars and Brahmins. They are the most powerful in the bureaucracy of Telangana. Historically these communities were privileged. Earlier they controlled Sanskrit and Persian language as well. The rich among Muslim have Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English. Even today the Muslim Nawabs are English educated like high end Brahmins. All their languages are not regional and confined to one small area. They are global languages and all Indian languages. They too never used those languages to liberate the oppressed castes. When they ruled the nation before the colonial period they pretended as if caste and human untouchability do not exist. They went by what the Brahmin court pundits told them. English in our times The Telangana caste survey also has shown the overall development of Shudra/OBC/Dalit/ Adivasi communities is more linked to English medium education than land. Even the most landed families are looking for an English educated employee in settling the marriage alliance. That is the reason why the Government schools are converted into English medium in the state. The idea of English medium and employment got into the life of the Shudra/OBC/Dalit/Adivasis because of Ambedkar’s fight for new liberation direction during the post-colonial period. No other freedom fighter made as much impact in their homes as Ambedkar did. Ambedkar is not like Gandhi to upper castes, nor like Rabindranath Tagore to the Bengali Bhadralok, nor like Jinnah to Muslim separatists, he is a reformer, a new language teacher and an employment source and divine figure for the oppressed castes. No Indian from marginalised castes knows about Macaulay as source of English language in their lives, and they only know Ambedkar as the source of English language education, employment, in India or abroad, and also protecting them in courts. And yet, the RSS/BJP Macaulay mania will have serious implications to their lives. The Macaulay mania Why are the RSS/BJP top leaders like Mohan Bhagwat and Narendra Modi have started identifying English language education to the British official, Macaulay? The RSS/BJP leaders’ pro-Sanskrit and anti-regional language bias towards languages like Bengali has also come out clearly in the debate in the parliament about Vande Mataram Vs Jana Gana Mana, the present national anthem. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his letters to the chief ministers and his final opinion was very clear that understanding Vande Mataram is difficult whereas Janagana Mana is easily understood (Indian Express, 10 December) not only by Indians but by foreigners. Both its anti-Macaulay campaign and subtly opposing regional languages in favour of Sanskrit or Hindi is a long term deceptive policy of
SP to corner govt over SIR, Dalit atrocities in Assembly
Lucknow: The winter session of UP Assembly is expected to start on a stormy note on Friday, with SP and its ally Congress planning to corner the govt on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise in the state. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav recently accused the BJP of conspiring to get votes deleted in UP regions where it lost elections in the past, particularly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Refubbing Akhilesh’s remarks, CM Yogi Adityanath had said the majority of expected voters, whose names were not updated, were primarily BJP supporters. The CM has, in fact, asked BJP functionaries to step up efforts in adding all eligible names, besides getting the names of unauthorised voters deleted from the electoral rolls. A senior SP functionary said the party would highlight in the Assembly how SIR is being used as a model to harass people and divert their attention from real issues. Sources said SP would also raise the alleged “complete breakdown of law and order” in the state. “Crime has become rampant, and the govt has failed to ensure safety and justice for ordinary people,” a senior SP functionary said. SP national spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said unemployment remains a grave concern. “Instead of providing jobs, govt is resorting to lathicharge and repression against youth who are peacefully demanding employment. This injustice against the youth of Uttar Pradesh will be forcefully raised,” he said. The party will also raise the issue of atrocities against Dalits, claiming that the number of such cases are continuously increasing under BJP govt sources said. “Despite constitutional safeguards, Dalits are facing violence, discrimination, and denial of justice. The Samajwadi Party will demand accountability and concrete action,” said an SP functionary. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Dalit farmer attempts suicide by hanging at Tikamgarh Collectorate, high-voltage drama over land fraud
Panic ensued at the Tikamgarh district collectorate in Madhya Pradesh when a Dalit farmer attempted to hang himself, frustrated by the lack of justice. The farmer alleges that he was cheated in a land registration deal and that no action was taken despite repeated complaints. Police and administrative officials rushed to the spot upon receiving the information. After much persuasion, the farmer was calmed down. Edited by: Sanjay Chaturvedi • Reported by: Narendra Arjariya Courtesy: Hindi News
India’s First Transgender Football League Kicks Off And Players Say They’ve Never Felt More Seen
With seven teams, 70 athletes, and a shared dream of inclusion, India’s first transgender football league has begun in Jamshedpur — redefining what equality in sport looks like. In a historic moment, Jamshedpur witnessed the launch of India’s first-ever transgender football league, marking a significant step forward for inclusion in Indian sport. Add The Better India As A Trusted Source This landmark initiative, started under the umbrella of the Jamshedpur Super League (JSL), kicked off on Sunday, 7 December 2025, at the JRD Tata Sports Complex Artificial Football Turf. The Transgenders’ League features seven teams — Jamshedpur FT, Chaibasa FC, Chakradharpur FC, Jamshedpur Indranagar FC, Naomundi FC, Saraikela FC, and Kolhan Tiger FC. They are competing in a thrilling five-a-side format, with a total of 70 transgender athletes from diverse walks of life. Matches will be organised every Sunday for a period of six months. The opening day saw three highly competitive matches. Jamshedpur FT registered a resounding 7–0 win over Chaibasa FC. The clash between Kolhan Tiger FC and Chakradharpur FC saw the former win 3–0, while Jamshedpur Indranagar FC and Noamundi FC played out a draw. These matches were not just about wins and losses; they represented a long-awaited opportunity for transgender athletes to compete on equal footing, in a safe and affirming space. JRD Tata Sports Complex The matches are being held at JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. (Photograph:Jamshedpur FC) ‘For the first time, I was seen for my game.’ For many athletes, this league holds deep personal significance. Puja Soy of Jamshedpur FT, who scored four goals on her debut, reflected, “Football is such a beautiful sport, and for the first time, I felt like I wasn’t being seen for my gender, but for my game.” Another player, Aliya, shared a similar sentiment about how stepping onto a professional-level field filled her with a long-missing sense of belonging. “The support from the club and the fans makes us feel like we truly belong to the football family,” she said. Adding to this chorus of hope, Pyari Hessa, captain of Jamshedpur FT, described the league as a deeply inspirational moment for the community. “We are thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking initiative,” she said. “It gives us a platform we never had before and will hopefully inspire other states to create similar spaces.” Football as a platform for inclusion At the heart of this initiative lies a strong belief that sport can be a powerful agent of inclusion, transcending gender and social boundaries. Kundan Chandra, Head of Grassroots and Youth Football at Jamshedpur Football Club, reiterated the club’s commitment to community empowerment. “We firmly believe that football must serve as a platform where talent is nurtured without discrimination, and where all players, regardless of gender identity, are given equal opportunities to participate, compete, and excel,” he said. Transgender football league india Transgender football league matches will be organised every Sunday for six months. (Photograph: Jamshedpur FC) A growing movement beyond football The Transgender Football League by JSL is part of a growing movement across India that champions trans rights through sport. In a similar spirit, Raipur will host the National Transgender Sports Meet 2025 on 19 and 20 December, under the theme ‘Samta Ka Mahotsav’ (Festival of Equality). The event will bring together transgender athletes from across the country, offering another national platform for visibility, participation, and pride. Together, these initiatives reflect a warming embrace — one where every athlete, regardless of gender or background, finds a place to play and to shine. By Niharika Dabral, Edited By Vidya Gowri Venkatesh Courtesy : TBI Note: This news is originally published on https:/thebetterindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Akka Café closure in Haveri affects public, transgender livelihoods
What made the Rs 15-lakh unit unique was that it was entirely managed by transgender persons — a first-of-its-kind initiative in the state The closure of the “Akka Café” in Haveri, which was envisioned as a model initiative for women’s empowerment and social inclusion, has triggered disappointment among the public as well as members of the transgender community. The café was established as part of the state government’s plan to set up around 50 Akka Cafés across Karnataka, including in Bengaluru. What made the Haveri unit unique was that it was entirely managed by transgender persons — a firstof-its-kind initiative in the state. However, even before completing one year of operation, the Akka Café and the adjacent Nandini Milk Parlour located within the Zilla Panchayat office premises have been shut down. The closure has caused inconvenience to hundreds of people who travel from distant villages to the district administration and Zilla Panchayat offices every day. Located near Devagiri village on the outskirts of the city, the district office complex had relied heavily on the Akka Café for affordable meals and refreshments. Government officials, staff members, and visitors attending meetings and programmes at the Zilla Panchayat auditorium regularly depended on the café for food services. The Akka Café had gained popularity for offering hygienic and tasty food at subsidised rates. Its menu featured several North Karnataka specialities, including mandakki mirchi, holige–sheerani meals and other traditional dishes. Due to its quality and affordability, the café witnessed increasing footfall and steady business. With its closure, visitors are now forced to look for food options far away, adding to their inconvenience The café was set up at a cost of approximately ₹15 lakh with government support. The initiative was strongly backed by former Zilla Panchayat CEO Akshay Shridhar, who was keen on providing sustainable livelihood opportunities to transgender persons. Operated under the leadership of the Savitribai Phule Self-Help Group of Devagiri village, the café provided employment to around 10 transgender individuals. For many of them, it marked a turning point, helping them move away from begging and sex work towards a dignified means of living. From cooking and food supply to billing and daily operations, all responsibilities were handled by members of the transgender community. Explaining the reasons behind the closure, current Zilla Panchayat CEO Ruchi Bindal stated that the Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood. She said a complaint had been received regarding the café’s financial matters, following which a statutory audit was ordered on October 17, 2025. As the audit report has not yet been accepted by the higher authorities, the café has been temporarily shut down. She added that once the report is received and due action is taken as per rules, the Akka Café will be reopened. Meanwhile, the shutdown has raised concerns about the impact on public convenience and the livelihood of the transgender community, with many urging the authorities to expedite the audit process and restore the café at the earliest. Courtesy : THI Note: This news is originally published on https:/thehansindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Cong’s protest call over EDaction leads to detentions
Varanasi: A large number of Congress office-bearers and workers were confined to their homes, while scores of those who managed to reach Maldahiya crossing were arrested and sent to Police Lines on Thursday. They called to gather near the Sardar Patel statue at Maldahiya and march to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gulab Bagh office against the alleged misuse of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to harass Congress top brass, including Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi as part of vendetta politics. In view of this call by Congress leaders to carry out a protest march, several senior Congress leaders and office-bearers, including city president Raghavendra Choubey, were confined to their residences in the morning. A heavy police force was deployed from Maldahiya to Gulab Bagh. Despite all these arrangements, scores of Congress leaders managed to reach Maldahiya crossing and garlanded the statue of Sardar Patel. However, when they tried to march towards Gulab Bagh, police arrested 18 protestors and sent them to Police Lines. In his statement, the Congress city chief termed the bid to stop them from exercising their democratic rights as a cowardly move by the BJP and police. He said that Congress leadership called for protest after it was proved that ED action against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the ‘Young Indian’ case was completely illegal and motivated by political vendetta. They said that the Central govt is trying to suppress the voice of opposition by misusing investigative agencies. Due to their protest and the deployment of a heavy police force, traffic at the busy Maldahiya crossing remained disturbed for some time. Commissioner of Police Mohit Agrawal, who monitored the arrangements, said that the site for staging protests is fixed at Shastri Ghat, while options for submitting a memorandum to the district administration by a delegation of leaders were opened. If they had to hold any march or other event, prior permission should have been taken, he said, adding that all the actions by police were aimed at maintaining law and order. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
The grand old party’s crisis: Why Congress partymen are parting ways
NEW DELHI: The Congress’s internal churn burst into the open again recently after former Odisha MLA Mohammed Moquim wrote to Sonia Gandhi, calling for “open-heart surgery” in the party and flagging a growing disconnect between the leadership and its workers. Similar concerns were raised in the run-up to the Bihar assembly elections this year in November, where the distance between the “leadership” and the workers was on display during seat distribution talks. Since its formation in 1885, the Congress has had problem of plenty. There were too many popular leaders, too many dedicated party workers and too many loyal supporters during the country’s freedom struggle. After Independence, the country rallied behind Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress, helping the party win almost every election. To its credit, the party served as a broad canopy under which different ideologies co-existed. Cut to the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election: everything seemed to go against the grand old party. After a 10-year run at the Centre, the Congress found itself reeling under corruption charges, anti-incumbency and a sudden exodus of senior leaders just ahead of the polls. The final nail in the coffin was the “Modi wave”, which helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweep away the general election. Since then, the stars have not aligned for the Congress. The party continues to face more or less the same problems it did a decade ago. It remains plagued by infighting, disillusioned workers and senior leaders jumping ship after flagging serious leadership issues. In his letter to Sonia Gandhi dated December 8, ex-Odisha MLA Mohammed Moquim highlighted six consecutive election losses in Odisha and three in Lok Sabha while also questioning the selection of Mallikarjun Kharge as the party’s leader, claiming that the 83-year-old veteran “is unable to resonate with India’s youth.” In his five-page letter, he also complained that he had not been granted an audience with Rahul Gandhi for almost three years. “This is not a personal grievance … but a reflection of a wider emotional disconnect felt by workers across India, who feel unseen and unheard,” he wrote. This is not the first time a party leader has complained about not getting an audience with the Congress scion. The list has only grown longer. Leaders such as Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jitin Prasada have quit the Congress and joined rival parties after raising similar concerns. This raises a key question: why are so many leaders disgruntled with the grand old party, and why is it steadily losing its cadre across states? Defeats after defeats After suffering a debacle in the 2014 general election at the hands of the BJP, the Congress has lost more elections than it has won. Even after a promising performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party soon lost steam. The sharpest slide came in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, where the Congress was reduced to just 16 seats. In Bihar, its tally halved from 12 to six, while in Haryana – where it hoped to convert Lok Sabha momentum into victory – it slipped from 42 to 37. Even in Delhi, where the Congress was trying to claw back to relevance, the party drew a blank for the third consecutive time. The only two states where the Congress did marginally better – Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand – were ones where it fought as a junior partner in a coalition. Unholy marriages In political alliances, chemistry between parties is paramount. Historically, however, many regional parties allied with the Congress were either born out of splits from it or emerged from anti-Congress sentiment. This unequal match often creates friction for the grand old party. For instance, the Congress’s alliance with the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir appeared to be on the brink of collapse following sharp differences. Chief minister Omar Abdullah has, on several occasions, publicly expressed displeasure over the Congress’s decision to launch a campaign for the restoration of statehood without consulting its ally. Similarly, the Congress’s relationship with the Aam Aadmi Party has been turbulent within the INDIA bloc. After prolonged seat-sharing negotiations and resistance from the Congress’s Delhi unit, the two parties fought together in Delhi, Gujarat and Haryana in the Lok Sabha polls, but against each other in Punjab. Last year, they failed to reach a consensus on seat-sharing in the Haryana Assembly elections and contested separately. In the Delhi Assembly elections earlier this year as well, both parties fought a bitter battle, raising questions over how the two would function as allies within the INDIA bloc. In such situations, party workers on the ground – wired to defend their own party – often find themselves confused while coordinating with alliance partners who hold opposing ideological positions. Decisions by the ‘high command’ The Congress ‘high command’ is also frequently accused of taking too long to act when power tussles erupt within state units. As an ongoing standoff between Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar forces the leadership into repeated deliberations, no decisive call has yet been taken. Similar leadership tussles played out in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where factionalism among state leaders eventually contributed to the party losing power. The common thread across these states has been the Congress leadership’s reluctance to act decisively in battles between the old guard and younger turks. In Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot – who as state president had led the party to a decisive victory in 2018 – staked claim to the chief minister’s post. The party, however, backed veteran Ashok Gehlot, who had led the Congress to defeat in 2013. Pilot and his supporters were left disappointed. When he intensified his campaign for the top job, Gehlot used his influence to quell the rebellion. Though the Gandhi family persuaded Pilot to stay, the high command’s bet on Gehlot failed, with the party losing the state in 2024. Who is the high command, anyway? Several Congress leaders, including Sanjay Nirupam, have alleged that the party
‘Anti-state, anti-village’: Rahul Gandhi hits out VB-RAM G bill day after passage; what he said
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Modi government a day after Parliament cleared the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, calling it “anti-state and anti-village by design” and accusing the Centre of dismantling the core of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a post on X, the LoP in Lok Sabha said the government had “demolished twenty years of MGNREGA in one day”, arguing that the new law was being falsely presented as a reform. “VB–G RAM G isn’t a ‘revamp’ of MGNREGA. It demolishes the rights-based, demand-driven guarantee and turns it into a rationed scheme which is controlled from Delhi,” he wrote, adding that “it is anti-state and anti-village by design”. Rahul said MGNREGA had fundamentally shifted power in rural India by giving workers genuine bargaining leverage. “With real options, exploitation and distress migration fell, wages increased, working conditions improved, all while building and reviving rural infrastructure,” he said. According to him, that leverage was precisely what the government now wanted to weaken. “By capping work and building in more ways to deny it, VB–G RAM G weakens the one instrument which the rural poor had.” Pointing to the Covid-19 crisis, Gandhi said the original scheme proved its value when livelihoods collapsed. “When the economy shut down and livelihoods collapsed, it kept crores from falling into hunger and debt,” he wrote, noting that women had consistently accounted for more than half of all person-days under MGNREGA. He warned that rationing employment would hit the most vulnerable first. “When you ration a jobs programme, it is women, Dalits, Adivasis, landless workers and the poorest OBC communities who get pushed out first.” The Parliament on Thursday passed the Bill amid noisy protests from the Opposition. While the government insists the legislation will strengthen rural livelihoods, opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, have staged demonstrations, accusing the Centre of pushing the Bill through without consensus. Courtesy ; TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights