India, March 18 -- Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson and Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday demanded an increase in the wages and more guaranteed workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and accused the union government of "systematically undermining" the welfare programme by keeping its budget allocation stagnant.

Speaking in the Upper House during the Zero Hour, Gandhi said the right to employment enacted by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2005 was "a landmark legislation that served as a crucial safety net for millions of rural poor".

"...It is deeply concerning that the present BJP government has systematically undermined the scheme. T...