Opposition to protest against MGNREGA, SIR issues in Budget session

New Delhi (PTI): Opposition parties on Wednesday decided to raise the issues of MGNREGA repeal and SIR in the Budget session of Parliament, and protest democratically on them while participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address and the Union Budget.

Leaders of several opposition parties of the INDIA Bloc met here in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and discussed the opposition's strategy for the Budget session, sources said.

The leaders also decided to protest during the debate on the Motion of Thanks as well as during the Union Budget presentation and debate.

"The Opposition will use all democratic means to demand the restoration of MGNREGA," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

Today during the Hon’ble President’s Address to both Houses of Parliament, all Opposition parties most respectfully and in a dignified manner protested the bulldozed repeal of MGNREGA. The Opposition will use all democratic means to demand the restoration of MGNREGA.

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 28, 2026

After the leaders protested during the President address to the joint sitting of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the opposition and said it was matter of shame.

"The manner in which the opposition acted today is a matter of shame for the country. The Congress and its allies will never be forgiven. While tributes were being paid to 'Vande Mataram' on its 150th anniversary and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the opposition created a ruckus, disrupting the House when the nation should have been remembering their sacrifices," he said.

TMC and AAP leaders were not present during the meeting, which was attended among others by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretaries Ramesh and K C Venugopal, DMK's TR Baalu, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Sawant, Samajwadi Party's Javed Ali Khan, RJD's Prem Chand Gupta, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, CPI's P Sandosh and RSP's N K Premchandran.

The opposition meeting comes a day after top Congress leaders decided to raise in Parliament's Budget session issues concerning MGNREGA and SIR despite the government's refusal to debate them again.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party's parliamentary strategy group held on Tuesday at the residence of Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi where the Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge, were also present.