Bengaluru, Karnataka | January 26, 2026 – In a fiery post-Republic Day address, Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar rallied the party's cadres for a statewide 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' protest on Tuesday, framing it as a battle to preserve the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)—a cornerstone of rural India's social safety net—from what he called the BJP-led Centre's "sinister attempt to dismantle the right to work." The announcement, made amid the echoes of tricolor-hoisting ceremonies at the Congress headquarters, signals an escalation in the state's confrontation with New Delhi, blending constitutional fervor with electoral mobilization ahead of local polls.
Shivakumar, speaking to a packed hall of party workers, ministers, and legislators fresh from the Republic Day festivities, declared the march a "non-negotiable stand" against the proposed replacement of MGNREGA with the 'Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)' (VB-G RAM G) scheme. "It is shocking that the Right to Work has suffered a setback with the scrapping of the MGNREGA, which was enacted in the name of Mahatma Gandhi," he thundered, his voice laced with indignation. "We are protesting across the country, and as part of this agitation, we will hold the Raj Bhavan Chalo programme on Tuesday." He accused the Centre of betraying the UPA-era flagship, introduced 20 years ago under Manmohan Singh, by slashing funding, capping workdays, and introducing a "watered-down" alternative that prioritizes optics over obligations.
The Karnataka government, Shivakumar highlighted, has shouldered an annual burden of around ₹6,000 crore to sustain MGNREGA's promise of 100 days of wage employment to rural households, filling gaps left by delayed central reimbursements. "This isn't just a scheme; it's a constitutional right under Article 41, a lifeline for millions battling drought and despair," he asserted, vowing that the protests would culminate in a resolution demanding the "immediate withdrawal of the law that seeks to destroy MGNREGA." Under the stewardship of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the campaign is poised to span districts, with a minimum five-kilometer 'padayatra' (foot march) in every taluk and grassroots demonstrations at the panchayat level.
The 'Raj Bhavan Chalo'—a symbolic march to the Governor's residence—carries layered significance in Karnataka's fractious political theater. It evokes recent standoffs, including the January 22 joint legislative session where Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot delivered a truncated three-line address, skipping paragraphs lambasting the Centre's MGNREGA tweaks. Shivakumar quipped, "We should have actually carried out BJP Office Chalo as they were responsible for repealing the MGNREGA, but we are doing Raj Bhavan Chalo," underscoring a strategic pivot to spotlight federal overreach while appealing to the Governor as a neutral arbiter.
Echoing sentiments from Kharge's Hubballi speech two days prior—where the AICC chief decried the scheme's "repeal" as an assault on Directive Principles—Shivakumar positioned the agitation as a pan-India clarion call. "The agitation will continue until MGNREGA is restored," he pledged, drawing parallels to the 2021 farmers' protests that forced the withdrawal of three farm laws. Party insiders reveal plans for synchronized dharnas in Delhi and other state capitals, with Karnataka's event at the epicenter: a convergence at Vidhana Soudha, marching to Raj Bhavan with placards reading "Save MGNREGA, Save Democracy" and "No to VB-G RAM G – Return Our Right to Work."
As of Monday evening, social media was abuzz with mobilization posts from KPCC handles, amassing over 50,000 engagements on X within hours of Shivakumar's briefing. Viral clips of his address, interspersed with beneficiary testimonials from rural Mandya—his home turf—have trended under #SaveMGNREGA and #RajBhavanChalo, outpacing BJP counter-narratives by a wide margin.
The opposition BJP, still smarting from weekend setbacks in Hubballi's housing jamboree, dismissed the move as "desperate vote-bank theatrics." State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra retorted via a terse X post: "Congress's MGNREGA sob story is a smokescreen for their own fiscal failures. VB-G RAM G empowers youth with skills, not shovels—progress, not populism." Yet, analysts see Shivakumar's gambit as a masterstroke, consolidating Congress's rural base amid accusations of central discrimination—Karnataka's ₹4,600 crore MGNREGA wage arrears remain unpaid despite Supreme Court prodding.
With Republic Day's patriotic fervor still lingering, the 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' risks tipping into high-stakes drama, especially given the Governor's recent missive to the President on assembly proceedings. Shivakumar brushed aside queries on that front: "I have no information about that. The Governor could have stayed till the speech was read and the national anthem was completed." As barricades go up around Bengaluru's UB City precincts and police seek traffic diversions, the march looms as a litmus test for Siddaramaiah's government's resilience—and Congress's knack for turning policy grievances into political gold.
In a nation where 6.4 crore households rely on MGNREGA for survival, per Labour Ministry data, Tuesday's showdown could reverberate far beyond Karnataka's borders, reigniting debates on federalism's fraying threads. For Shivakumar, it's personal: a chance to reclaim the narrative from "Modi's guarantees" and etch Congress as the guardian of the Gandhi-inspired social contract. As one party worker summed it up on X: "From farms to factories, we're marching for mazdoor's maafi—not myths."
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