Congress leaders, alongside CPI(M) representatives, have voiced strong opposition to proposed changes in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). They allege the Union government is undermining the program's foundational principles, restricting employment to notified panchayats and shifting wage cost responsibility to states. Critics claim these modifications are increasing unemployment, rural-to-urban migration, and negatively impacting local livelihoods, urging the government to maintain MGNREGA in its original form.