Replacing MGNREGA is ‘historic mistake’: Sachin Pilot

AICC general secretary Sachin Pilot on Monday launched a blistering attack on the Centre over its decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling it a “historic mistake” and a calculated assault on the livelihoods of India’s most vulnerable citizens.

Addressing reporters, the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister accused the BJP-led government of dismantling the only financial safety net rural India had, without consultation or consensus. “For the first time since Independence, a programme named after the Father of the Nation has been erased,” Pilot said, alleging that the government had “single-handedly destroyed” MGNREGA and replaced it with a centralised scheme that strips power from local communities.

Pilot claimed the repeal of MGNREGA was pushed through Parliament by sheer force of numbers, bypassing meaningful debate with state governments, stakeholders and civil society. “Parliament was reduced to a display of brute majority,” he said, adding that the new legislation marks a departure from the demand-driven framework that once empowered gram sabhas to decide local development priorities.

Under the new law — the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025 — the Centre will determine the nature and timing of works, a move Pilot described as “over-centralisation at the cost of rural livelihoods.” The Bill was passed amid strong opposition protests and received presidential assent on December 21, formally replacing the MGNREGA enacted during the UPA government led by former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Pilot also flagged the financial implications for states, noting that the Centre has altered the funding ratio from 90:10 to 60:40, effectively shifting the burden of rural employment expenditure onto state governments. “This is a textbook example of how this government works against the interests of the most marginalised,” he alleged.

He said the decision has drawn widespread condemnation from civil society and stakeholders, and asserted that the Congress and the INDIA bloc would mount a united resistance. “The Congress Working Committee will meet on 27 December in New Delhi to chart our course of action. We will exert every possible pressure to ensure this law is rolled back,” Pilot said.

Turning to the National Herald case, Pilot accused the BJP of nurturing political vendetta since coming to power in 2014 by falsely implicating Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He said a recent Delhi court order refusing to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s money-laundering charges had exposed the political motivation behind the case.

“The court’s observations vindicate our stand,” Pilot said, adding that the attempt to criminalise the Congress leadership had failed.

With PTI inputs