3 min readApr 14, 2026 02:12 PM IST
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (Apr 14) expressed solidarity with the workers protesting in Noida, highlighting their struggles over minimum-wage demands.
Calling the agitation a reflection of broader economic distress among labourers, Gandhi said that the protests were a final cry of India’s workers, “whose every voice was ignored”.
Taking to his X account, he said, “What happened yesterday on the roads of Noida was the final cry of this country’s workers—one whose every voice was ignored, who grew weary from endless pleading. A worker in Noida earns a monthly salary of ₹12,000; rent costs ₹4,000–7,000. By the time he gets a ₹300 annual raise, the landlord hikes the rent by ₹500 a year.”
He said that the runaway inflation is “choking” and “drowning” the labourers in the “depths of debt”, calling it the truth of “Developed India”.
कल नोएडा की सड़कों पर जो हुआ, वो इस देश के श्रमिकों की आख़िरी चीख़ थी – जिसकी हर आवाज़ को अनसुना किया गया, जो मांगते-मांगते थक गया।
नोएडा में काम करने वाले एक मज़दूर की ₹12,000 महीने की तनख्वाह,₹4,000-7,000 किराया। जब तक ₹300 की सालाना बढ़ोतरी मिलती है, मकान मालिक ₹500…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 14, 2026
Gandhi further criticised rising prices and stagnant wages, saying workers face mounting debt and distress, which push them to work extended hours.
A female worker said, “Gas prices keep rising, but our salaries don’t.” These people probably shelled out ₹5,000 for a cylinder just to light the stove at home during this gas crisis. This isn’t just about Noida. And it’s not just about India either. Fuel prices are skyrocketing worldwide—the supply chain has snapped due to war in West Asia,” he wrote.
He then stressed that despite the inflation, the industrialists remain unaffected.
“But America’s tariff wars, global inflation, the breaking supply chains—the burden hasn’t fallen on Modi ji’s “friendly” industrialists. The hardest hit is the daily-wage worker who eats only when he earns. That worker, who’s not part of any war, who didn’t craft any policy—he just worked. Quietly. Without complaint. And what does he get for demanding his due? Pressure and oppression,” he said in his post.
Over 350 arrested day after Noida workers’ protest
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A day after Noida workers’ protest turned violent with incidents of stone pelting and vandalism reported, the police arrested more than 350 accused within the Noida Zone.
On Monday, thousands of factory workers from dozens of units across Noida’s industrial belt protested violently to demand better wages and working conditions.
A high-level committee was set up by the UP Labour Department to resolve the dispute between workers and industries, and discussions were held with all stakeholders, following which the Uttar Pradesh government hiked minimum wages for workers across categories.
