Punjab Assembly unanimously rejects VB-GRAMG, demands full restoration of MGNREGA

The Punjab Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, or VB-GRAMG, accusing the BJP-led Union government of “taking away” the livelihoods of the poor and Dalit labourers by scrapping the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as part of a “deliberate conspiracy”.

The resolution, adopted during a one-day special session of the Vidhan Sabha convened by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, urged the Punjab government to seek immediate restoration of MGNREGA in its original, rights-based form.

The House also recorded that the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) had maintained “silence” on the issue, which it attributed to the party’s hope of re-establishing an alliance with the BJP ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

While the AAP government had called the special session specifically to oppose the VB-GRAMG Act — brought by the Centre as a replacement for MGNREGA — the two BJP MLAs were not present in the House when the resolution was passed.

Ruling party leaders described the Centre’s move to introduce VB-GRAMG as “anti-poor”, alleging that it would “snatch away bread from the mouths of the poor”, and also termed it “an attack on the federal structure”.

Rural development and panchayat minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond tabled the resolution for discussion, warning that VB-GRAMG would have a severe impact on below-poverty-line families, Scheduled Caste (SC) communities and rural labourers who depend on MGNREGA for survival. Alleging that the Centre was attempting to “finish” MGNREGA, Sond demanded its immediate restoration.

According to the resolution, the BJP-led central government has taken away the livelihoods of Dalit labourers, Dalit families and the poor Dalit community by scrapping MGNREGA.

“This is a deliberate and dangerous conspiracy. The BJP central government has not only dismantled MGNREGA but it has also taken away the livelihood of Dalit labourers. This House believes that the BJP central government has not only destroyed a government scheme but it has also destroyed the right to survival of the Dalit labourers of the country,” the resolution said.

Calling MGNREGA the last means of survival for millions of Dalits and poor Dalit families, the House said the scheme enabled Dalit labourers to remain in their villages, earn a livelihood through hard work, send their children to school and live with dignity.

“Abolishing MGNREGA is not a decision to implement the scheme but a declaration of thought from an anti-Dalit perspective. By scrapping MGNREGA, the central BJP government has taken away jobs from Dalit labourers, deprived Dalit children of education and extinguished the kitchen stoves of Dalit families,” it said.

“A government that extinguishes the kitchen stoves of the Dalits forfeits its moral right to seek votes from the Dalit community. This House clearly states that the policies of the BJP central government are anti-Dalit. The decisions of the BJP’s central government repeatedly prove that the BJP hates Dalits and wants to marginalise them,” the resolution added.

The House said that any attack on MGNREGA amounted to an attack on the dignity and existence of Dalits.

“This House also says that the government which does not provide jobs to Dalits in villages pushes them to urban slums. Today, the central BJP government has taken away the moral right of Dalit workers and poor Dalit families to seek votes. A government that does not care about the livelihood of Dalits has no moral demand for Dalit votes,” it stated.

The resolution also sharply criticised the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) for its silence on the issue. “This silence is because they hope to reestablish their alliance with the BJP in 2027, even if the Dalits have to pay the price for it. Keeping silent on the verdicts against Dalits is also a crime,” it said.

The House recommended that the state government demand that the BJP-led Centre immediately withdraw the decision to scrap MGNREGA, fully restore the scheme to its original rights-based framework, and ensure guaranteed work and wages for Dalit labourers and poor Dalit families across the country.

Participating in the discussion, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the Centre of “systematically dismantling” MGNREGA and “stripping the poor of their right to a livelihood”, calling it “an assault on the stomachs of the marginalised”.

Cabinet minister Aman Arora described VB-GRAMG as a calculated move to deny guaranteed employment and questioned the logic underpinning the new framework. “They talk about an ‘average’ of 26 days of employment in Punjab. Even if we accept this dubious average, my question is, what was the purpose of increasing the days from 100 to 125?” Arora said.

“This is nothing but making fools of the people. If an MGNREGA labourer knows he won’t get wages for six to eight months, will he show up for work? Even if panchayats want to start projects, how will they pay for materials if funds are not released from the top? The Centre has single-handedly killed this scheme,” he added.

With PTI inputs