AAP Punjab Slams Centre’s Deceptive Move to Dilute MGNREGA, Warns of Severe Impact on Rural Workers

Chandigarh, December 16, 2025: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab strongly condemned the Union government’s move to dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace it with the so-called Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), calling it a “well-planned deception” aimed at weakening the rights, dignity, and livelihood security of rural labourers across the country.
 
AAP Punjab Spokesperson Neel Garg, addressing a press conference along with AAP leader Saphal Harpreet Singh, said that since coming to power, the Modi government has consistently relied on hollow slogans and political theatrics to mislead the public, while systematically eroding welfare guarantees meant for the poorest sections of society.
 
 “This is not merely a change of name, nor is it about removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name. The real issue is that the Centre has effectively sounded the death knell of MGNREGA and is trying to hide its anti-labourers agenda behind manufactured TV debates and distractions,” Garg said.
 
Garg warned that more than 12 crore rural workers, who currently hold MGNREGA job cards, will be directly affected by this new bill. While the government is claiming an increase in guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125 days, the fine print of the proposed legislation exposes a dangerous reality.
 
“Clause 68 of the new bill does not guarantee work, but it includes denial of work,” Garg said. “It states that during 60 days of the agricultural season, there is no obligation to provide employment. Who will decide whether a labourer got work in agriculture or whether his household survived during those 60 days?”
 
Under MGNREGA, employment demand was assessed at the grassroots level, with workers approaching the panchayat or sarpanch directly. Garg questioned how rural labourers would now access employment.
 
 “Will a poor worker now have to approach the Prime Minister for work? Even reaching the sarpanch was difficult, this policy completely disconnects employment from the grassroots and centralises power in Delhi.”
 
Garg cautioned that the dilution of employment guarantees will flood the labour market, increasing exploitation of rural workers and snatching away the minimum dignity they earned through guaranteed wages.
 
“MGNREGA ensured that a worker could earn an honest living and keep the kitchen fire burning. This new scheme places a question mark on that basic dignity.”
 
The AAP spokesperson highlighted that the new bill severely undermines federal principles. Earlier, the Centre bore 90% of the cost, with states contributing 10%. Under the new scheme, the burden shifts to a 60:40 ratio, pushing financially stressed states into a deeper crisis.
 
 “Now the Centre will decide which state gets how much work and funding, without any fixed formula. We have seen for the last 12 years how the Modi government discriminates against opposition-ruled states. Punjab itself is suffering, with funds like RDF still withheld.”
 
He warned that if states require employment beyond the Centre’s allocated funds, they will have to bear 100% of the cost, making large-scale rural employment practically impossible.
 
Garg cited the example of West Bengal, where MGNREGA funds were withheld for years despite the Centre losing cases in both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
 
“If this was the situation when MGNREGA was protected by law, imagine what will happen when even that legal protection is removed. Workers will have no recourse, not even the courts.”
 
Garg pointed out that minimum wages have seen no meaningful increase over the last eight years, while the Centre continues policies that are anti-farmer and anti-worker.
 
 “In a country where 80 crore people survive on free ration, removing employment security will push India towards hunger and deeper poverty. Without MGNREGA-like support, millions simply won’t survive.”
 
Neel Garg announced that AAP MPs will strongly oppose this bill in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Punjab government will also formally resist this anti-labourers move.
 
“This scheme is labour-hostile, anti-federal, and anti-India. AAP will not allow the Centre to destroy the livelihoods of rural workers through deception.”
 
He appealed to all political parties and labour unions to rise above partisan politics and unite in defence of workers’ rights.
 
“This is not a party issue, it is a fight for the future of millions of Indians. If MGNREGA is buried, millions of homes will go dark. The Aam Aadmi Party and its leadership will fight this battle on every platform and will never allow the Centre’s conspiracies to succeed,” Garg asserted.