The New Indian Express News

Punjab government to hold special assembly session against replacement of MGNREGA with VB G RAM G

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government will convene a special session of the state assembly next month to protest the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB G RAM G), which it views as the union governments attempt to hit the livelihoods of the poor. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, The BJP government at the Centre is trying to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme. A special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha will be called in the second week of January to raise the voice of Punjabis against this oppression. The decision to convene the special assembly session was taken by the partys top leaders, including AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, on Thursday evening. Kejriwal is currently on a three-day tour of the state. The previous special session of the Vidhan Sabha, held on November 24, was prorogued by the Governor on December 17. Meanwhile, several unions have begun protesting against the replacement of MGNREGA with VB G RAM G. Lachman Singh Sewewal, general secretary of Punjab Khet Mazdoor Unions, said protests were held yesterday in Bathinda, Moga, Muktsar, Faridkot, and Sangrur, where effigies of the Central Government were burnt. He added that the change in the scheme would remove assured employment in rural areas and was being introduced to erase the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. The VB G RAM G Bill was recently introduced in Parliament and passed amid protests by opposition MPs. Since the new funding model will require states to contribute financially, its implementation could pose a challenge for cash-strapped states like Punjab. Punjab AAP spokesperson Neel Garg alleged that the union government has relied on hollow slogans and political theatrics to mislead the public while systematically eroding welfare guarantees for the poorest. This is not merely a change of name, nor about removing Mahatma Gandhis name. The real issue is that the Centre has effectively sounded the death knell for MGNREGA and is trying to hide its anti-labour agenda behind manufactured TV debates and distractions, he said. Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the move was not a routine policy adjustment but a direct assault on Mahatma Gandhis legacy and a calculated rollback of one of independent Indias most transformative social security legislations. He warned that shifting MGNREGA from 100% central funding to a 60:40 CentreState cost-sharing formula would place an unbearable fiscal burden on financially stressed states. This decision arms the Centre with another tool to discriminate against opposition-ruled states by arbitrarily curtailing funds. It strikes at the foundation of cooperative federalism and threatens a crucial employment lifeline for rural India, Bajwa asserted. Highlighting Punjabs financial challenges, he said the BJP has consistently squeezed opposition-ruled states by withholding the Rural Development Fund (RDF) and delaying GST compensation. Punjab and several other states were forced to fight for their legitimate GST dues. In such a hostile fiscal environment, imposing additional financial liabilities will only push cash-starved states deeper into distress, he added. Bajwa emphasised that the BJPs policy shift would disproportionately harm societys most vulnerable sections. Dalits, landless labourers, and marginalized rural workers will bear the brunt of this regressive decision. This is not reformit is ideological vandalism and an unapologetic attack on social justice, he stated. The Shiromani Akali Dal also expressed concern over the Centres proposal to institute a 60:40 cost-sharing ratio, calling it fundamentally unacceptable as it diluted the core essence of the scheme and undermined its primary objective of guaranteeing livelihood security through wage employment in rural areas.