Asif Iqbal Naik
Jammu, February 15: A significant review meeting of the Pradesh Youth Congress was held today at Radisson Blu, Jammu. The meeting focused on reviewing ongoing organisational activities, discussing upcoming programmes, and strengthening the party structure at various levels across the Union Territory.
The meeting was attended by National In-charge Manish Sharma, who provided key guidance and emphasised the need to further reinforce the organisation at the grassroots level. He stressed that strengthening booth-level committees and ensuring consistent outreach among youth would be key to building sustained momentum on public issues.
State General Secretary Anas Mujtaba Munshi presented a detailed report on the current activities and organisational progress within the state. He highlighted district-level engagements, youth mobilisation drives, and coordination meetings conducted in recent weeks.
The meeting was further attended by In-charge of JKPYC Maan Singh Rathore and President of Pradesh Youth Congress Aakash Bharat. Leaders deliberated on strategies to expand the organisation at the booth level, enhance youth participation, and effectively implement upcoming campaigns.
Notably, the meeting also served as a follow-up review of yesterday’s protest in Jammu, during which Youth Congress workers raised strong demands for the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and strongly opposed the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the newly introduced scheme VBGRAMG.
Congress leaders termed the move as “anti-people,” alleging that replacing a statutory Act guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment with a scheme weakens legal safeguards for rural workers. They argued that MGNREGA, being an Act passed by Parliament, provided a rights-based framework ensuring accountability and time-bound wage payments, whereas converting it into a scheme dilutes workers’ entitlements. According to party leaders, the change could lead to reduced transparency, discretionary implementation, and growing unemployment in rural areas, particularly affecting daily wage earners and economically weaker sections who depend heavily on guaranteed employment for survival.
Leaders assessed the public response to the protest and resolved to intensify their campaign on restoration of statehood and protection of rural employment rights through district- and block-level programmes in the coming weeks.
The meeting concluded with a collective commitment to make the organisation more active, united, and impactful, with office bearers urged to carry out their responsibilities with dedication and accountability.
