Punjab Calls December 30 Special Assembly Session Against Centre’s Overhaul Of MGNREGA, Central Schemes
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has advanced a special session of the Assembly to 30 December to protest the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the new VB-G RAM G mission and to flag what it calls “back-door attacks” on state finances through changes in funding patterns of central schemes.
Cabinet Clears One-Day Special Sitting
A Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann decided that the Vidhan Sabha will hold a one-day special session on 30 December, bringing forward an earlier plan to meet in the second week of January on the same issue.
Officials indicated that the advanced date is aimed at sending a strong political message and keeping pace with the Opposition Congress, which has already launched protests against the VB-G RAM G Bill that seeks to replace MGNREGA at the national level.
Resolution To Oppose VB-G RAM G Bill
During the special sitting, the House is expected to take up a resolution opposing the Centre’s Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), which the Union government has brought in place of the existing MGNREGA framework.
Sources said the debate will focus on how the new law could “snatch away the rights of the poor” in Punjab by changing employment guarantees and restructuring the programme in a way that dilutes assured work for rural and farm labourers.
Punjab Terms Move ‘Attack’ On State Finances
Mann and senior Punjab ministers have alleged that the Centre is shifting a larger share of the financial burden of the revamped scheme onto states, warning that this will hit already debt-stressed state finances and risk poor implementation on the ground.
They point out that under MGNREGA, the Centre earlier contributed around 90% of the cost while states pitched in 10%, and argue that any reversal of this ratio or additional conditionalities would be unfair for states like Punjab that are still servicing high legacy debt.
- Risk of reduced employment security for rural workers if MGNREGA guarantees are weakened under the new VB-G RAM G framework.
- Higher financial contribution expected from states, which Punjab says will strain its already fragile fiscal position.
- Fear that renaming and redesigning central schemes undermines long-standing welfare programmes and creates uncertainty at village level.
MGNREGA Renaming Sparks Wider Political Clash
The Centre’s decision to bring the VB-G RAM G Bill and to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the flagship rural employment programme has triggered sharp reactions from Opposition parties in Parliament and across states, who accuse the Union government of trying to erase the scheme’s legacy while tightening control over funds.
In Punjab, labour unions and kisan organisations have already held protests in districts such as Bathinda, Moga, Muktsar, Faridkot and Sangrur, burning effigies of the Union government and warning that any rollback of guaranteed work days will deepen rural distress.
Session To Signal United Front For Rural Poor
The Mann government has pitched the 30 December sitting as an opportunity for the Assembly to send a united message that Punjab will not accept any dilution of rural workers’ rights or unilateral changes to funding norms that hurt states.
The ruling AAP has also indicated that the resolution will urge the Centre to withdraw the VB-G RAM G Bill, retain core guarantees under MGNREGA and consult states more closely before altering the structure or nomenclature of centrally sponsored schemes.
