DMK Protests Over Wage Delay Across Tamil Nadu, Stalin Says 'BJP Doesn’t Like Gandhi & MGNREGA'

Stalin claimed that the BJP government, which waives off corporate loans worth lakhs of crores with a single signature, was unwilling to pay the hard-earned wages of poor labourers.

Stalin criticised the Centre for its alleged apathy toward rural workers.

Source : X

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government, accusing it of neglecting the plight of MGNREGA workers. His remarks came as hundreds of DMK party workers staged massive protests across the state on Saturday, demanding the immediate release of pending wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Stalin criticised the Centre for its alleged apathy toward rural workers. He claimed that the BJP government, which waives off corporate loans worth lakhs of crores with a single signature, was unwilling to pay the hard-earned wages of poor labourers.

"The ruthless BJP has set out to destroy #MGNREGA, the backbone of the Indian rural economy developed by the UPA government. If corporates can get financial relief so easily, why is there no money to pay those who toiled under the scorching sun? No money or no heart?" Stalin questioned.

காந்தியைப் பிடிக்காதவர்களுக்கு அவர் பெயரிலான நூறு நாள் வேலைத் திட்டத்தையும் பிடிக்கவில்லை.

இந்தியக் கிராமப்புறப் பொருளாதாரத்தின் முதுகெலும்பாக, இரத்த ஓட்டமாக #UPA அரசால் வளர்த்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட #MGNREGA மீது சம்மட்டி கொண்டு அடித்து ஒரேயடியாக ஒழித்துக்கட்டும் வேலையில்… pic.twitter.com/bHyWLq8CNN

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) March 29, 2025

The Chief Minister accused the BJP of deliberately targeting MGNREGA because of its association with Mahatma Gandhi, alleging that the ruling party at the Centre "does not like Gandhi or the 100-day work scheme named after him."

Statewide Protests

The statewide protests, held at nearly 1,170 locations, saw thousands of DMK members and affected workers taking to the streets with placards demanding their rightful wages. Women participated in large numbers, echoing the call for the immediate release of Rs. 4,034 crore owed to Tamil Nadu’s MGNREGA workforce.

One of the protest banners directly questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking, "Where’s our salary?" Another highlighted Tamil Nadu’s social welfare measures, noting that while the state government provides Rs 1,000 in monthly financial aid to women, the Centre is failing to deliver wages owed to laborers, as per a report on PTI.