'Dalit Land Rights' Leader Arrested; INC Announces Save MGNREGA Campaign

Panjab police arrested Panjab Dalit land rights leader and the president of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC), Mukesh Malaud in New Delhi on 30 Dec. The Sangrur police arrested Mukesh in an interstate operation at Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi while he was returning after attending an Ambedkar Mission program in Maharashtra. The arrest is linked to several old cases, including one dating back to 2014 when a ZPSC-led agitation in Balad Kalan village, Sangrur district, demanded Dalits’ legal one-third share of village council land. This agitation had marked a turning point in Panjab’s Dalit land rights movements. The arrest has triggered sharp reactions from labor, farmer, and democratic organizations across the state. Several employee and labor union leaders demanded Mukesh’s immediate release, warning that organizations across Panjab will launch a strong and united agitation against the government. The arrest has drawn criticism because it took place on the same day the Panjab government convened a special Legislative Assembly session on issues concerning scrapping of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Many MGNREGA workers form the core membership of ZPSC. In the special session on 30 Dec 2025, the Panjab cabinet passed a resolution opposing the new rural employment law Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB G-RAM-G), alleging that it diluted safeguards under MGNREGA. The resolution has drawn criticism from the Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who called the move unconstitutional. He said, ‘Social audits were conducted in only 5,915 of the 13,304 village councils. The report mentions 10,653 cases of financial embezzlement, but no action was taken.’ Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress announced a nationwide agitation against the VB G-RAM-G Act from 8 Jan. Indian National Congress Member of Parliament Jairam Ramesh says the new law violates Article 258 of the Constitution of India as it was brought in without the consultation of the state governments. Drawing a parallel with the farmers’ protest of 2021, Ramesh said, ‘The three laws protest was Delhi-centric, but MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan (Save MGNREGA Campaign) will take place at the state, district, block and panchayat (village council) levels’ (earlier coverage).