New Delhi: Delhi police denied permission to the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha – a wide coalition of organisations working with MGNREGA workers – to protest anywhere in Delhi, including the designated protest site of Jantar Mantar, against the MGNREGA repeal that was afoot in the parliament.The Morcha has written in a statement that the police insisted on 10 days’ notice for permission to protest at Jantar Mantar. Some organisers, it said, were threatened with legal action if they went ahead with the protest.This is despite the fact that members of the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha have repeatedly been invited by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development as expert voices.The Delhi Police’s letter.A thin delegation of the Morcha appeared at Jantar Mantar today at 12 pm with banners and placards. Five MPs – Sasikanth Senthil of Congress, S. Murasoli and Thanga Tamizh Chelvan of DMK, Raja Ram Singh of CPI (ML) and Bikash Bhattacharya of CPI (M) – joined them.The group launched a flash demo highlighting the right to protest along with opposing the repeal of MGNREGA and were eventually evacuated by the police. Protests against the repeal of the MGNREGA were held across multiple states today.In its statement, the Morcha noted, “A government that imposes demonetisation at four hours’ notice (November 8, 2016), a national lockdown at a few hours’ notice (March 24, 2020), and also parliamentary debate of a Bill repealing MGNREGA at a few hours’ notice (December 17, 2025) has the audacity to ask for 10 days’ notice before allowing a small peaceful protest at a pre-designated spot.”