Senior Congress leader TSG Bhaskar on Saturday launched a sharp political offensive against the BJP-led central government, accusing it of “misrule” in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and announcing an island-wide protest campaign that will continue for the next two months.
Addressing a press conference in Sri Vijaya Puram along with Congress leader Tamilselvan, Bhaskar said the Andaman and Nicobar Pradesh Congress Committee would take its agitation to every village and neighbourhood to highlight what it described as the erosion of welfare schemes, weakening of local self-government and environmentally risky development policies.
A major focus of the Congress attack was the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Bhaskar alleged that the Centre had diluted the original intent of the scheme by renaming and restructuring it under the “Viksit Bharat” framework, weakening the role of Panchayati Raj institutions.
“The central government has changed the name of MGNREGA under the ‘Viksit Bharat’ framework, but the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi’s employment guarantee scheme is being diluted,” Bhaskar said, alleging that powers earlier vested in elected village bodies had been gradually centralised.
He also questioned the government’s claim of increasing guaranteed employment from 100 days to 125 days. “For the last two years, no substantial work has been carried out even under the 100-day guarantee in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Now the government is talking about 125 days, which is meaningless on the ground,” he said.
The Congress leaders further alleged that changes to the funding pattern of MGNREGA had placed a heavier burden on states. Bhaskar claimed that while the Centre earlier contributed 90 per cent of the cost and states 10 per cent, the revised structure now requires states to bear up to 40 per cent. He said this was unsustainable, particularly when GST compensation to states was being delayed.
“States are already under financial stress. The Centre does not even release GST dues on time, and now this additional burden will make it impossible for states to implement such schemes effectively,” Bhaskar said.
Tamilselvan said the decentralised nature of rural development had been eroded under the new framework. “Earlier, the Pradhan had the authority to decide works like wells, ponds, village roads and burial grounds. Now even digging a well will need approval from Delhi,” he said, calling it an attack on the Panchayati Raj system.
The Congress announced that it would hold protests across the islands over the next two months to raise public awareness about what it described as anti-poor and anti-rural policies. “In every village and every neighbourhood, we will go to the people and explain how their rights are being taken away,” Bhaskar said.
The press conference also saw strong opposition to the Great Nicobar Infrastructure project, with Bhaskar warning that the project posed a grave threat to the ecological and social future of the islands if pushed through without safeguards.
“I request the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to please let the Islands be. Don’t do any development which comes at the cost of our children’s future,” Bhaskar said, making an emotional appeal against the Great Nicobar project.
He warned that the project, if implemented in its current form, would cause irreversible ecological damage. “The Great Nicobar project will become a ghost for Andaman if it goes ahead in this manner,” he said.
Both leaders disputed official claims on forest diversion and tree felling linked to the project, alleging that the actual area affected was far higher than what had been stated publicly. Tamilselvan also questioned the idea of compensatory afforestation. “Natural forests that took millions of years to grow cannot be replaced by plantation elsewhere,” he said.
Employment and recruitment policies in the islands were also criticised. Tamilselvan alleged that frequent changes to recruitment rules had hurt local youth, especially in remote islands. “Rules are changed overnight without giving island students time to qualify, while people from the mainland are posted in remote areas without proper facilities,” he said.
The Congress leaders also challenged government claims of improved water and electricity supply. Bhaskar said that residents continued to face shortages despite official assertions of surplus resources. “On paper there is surplus water and power, but on the ground people are struggling,” he alleged.
Concluding the press conference, the Congress leadership said it would continue to demand greater transparency, decentralisation and environmental sensitivity in policies affecting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and would use democratic protests and public outreach to press its case in the coming weeks.
