NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday came out in support of protesting factory workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, terming the demonstration the “final cry” of the country’s workers.In a social media post on X, Rahul said that workers demanding ₹20,000 is not greed but “their right.”“What happened on the streets of Noida yesterday was the final cry of this country’s workers – every voice of which was ignored, who grew weary from constantly pleading. A worker in Noida earns a monthly wage of ₹12,000, with rent at ₹4,000-7,000. By the time they get a yearly increment of ₹300, the landlord hikes the rent by ₹500 a year,” Rahul said.“Until wages rise, this runaway inflation chokes life, drowns people in the depths of debt – this is the truth of ‘Developed India’.
A female worker said – ‘Gas prices keep going up, but our wages don’t.’ These people probably shelled out for a ₹5,000 cylinder too, just to light the stove at home during this gas crisis. This isn’t just about Noida. Nor is it just about India. Fuel prices are soaring the world over – supply chains have broken down due to war in West Asia,” he added.He also said that daily wage workers are bearing the brunt of global economic pressures while big industrialists remain largely unaffected.
He also criticised the implementation of the four Labour Codes, claiming they were introduced without adequate consultation.“Yet, America’s tariff wars, global inflation, crumbling supply chains – the burden hasn’t fallen on Modi ji’s ‘friendly’ industrialists. The heaviest blow has landed on that daily wage worker, who eats only when they earn. That worker, who’s no part of any war, who didn’t make any policy – who simply worked.
Quietly. Without complaint. And what do they get in return for demanding their rights? Pressure and oppression,” Rahul said.“One more crucial issue – the Modi government, in a hasty move without consultation, brought in 4 Labour Codes effective November 2025, extending work hours to 12 hours. Is the demand of that worker, who stands for 12-12 hours a day yet takes on debt to pay school fees for their children, unreasonable? And the one trampling their rights every day – is that ‘development’? Noida’s workers are demanding ₹20,000.
This isn’t greed – it’s their right, the sole foundation of their lives.
I stand with every such worker – who is the backbone of this country and whom this government has come to see as a burden,” he added.This comes as protests continued on Tuesday in Noida despite the state government announcing a wage hike for workers.The workers have been demanding an increase in minimum wages. The protests turned violent on Monday after an altercation with the police.
The protesters pelted stones and torched vehicles.More than 300 people were arrested in connection with the case, Gautam Buddha Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh said.Earlier, a high-level committee constituted by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath increased the interim minimum wages by about 21 per cent for workers in Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad, following massive protests in Noida Phase 2.
