VB-G RAM G is simply 'rozgar chori': Cong slams Modi govt

The Congress on Monday accused the Modi government of "rozgar chori" over the implementation of the VB-G RAM G Act, claiming official data showed a sharp fall in rural employment generation in July, the first month after the new law replaced MGNREGA.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X citing official data that showed a 49.94% year-on-year decline in person-days of employment generated under the revamped rural job guarantee programme in July.

"The first month of the Modi Government's VB-G RAM G is already exposing the cost of destroying MGNREGA," Ramesh said.

According to the figures cited by him, the number of households that availed employment fell 51.45% compared with July 2025, when MGNREGA was in operation. Person-days of employment also fell by nearly 50%.

Ramesh said the figures were in line with warnings issued by the Congress and other Opposition parties when MGNREGA was replaced.

"This is precisely what was predicted by the Congress and the entire Opposition when the MGNREGA was bulldozed by the Modi regime," he said.

Ramesh said MGNREGA had provided rural workers with a legal guarantee of employment and empowered Gram Panchayats to implement the scheme.

"The spirit of MGNREGA was to free workers from dependence on the political whims of the government of the day," he said.

He accused the Modi government of centralising the rural employment programme, placing a heavier financial burden on state governments and making access increasingly dependent on technology and biometric authentication.

"The Modi Government has instead centralised the scheme, imposed a heavy financial burden on State governments, made access increasingly dependent on technology and biometric authentication, removed the guarantee of employment, and made it harder for workers to claim their rights. VB-G RAM G is simply rozgar chori," Ramesh said.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, or VB-G RAM G Act, came into force across the country on July 1, replacing the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was introduced by the Congress-led UPA government.