Bengaluru, Dec 22 (PTI) — Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday strongly criticised the Union government’s VB-G RAM G Act 2025, which replaced MGNREGA, alleging that the new legislation undermines the act’s core promise as a rights-based rural employment programme.
In a post on social media platform ‘X’, Kharge said the act would gradually render the scheme unsustainable by shifting it from a demand-driven legal entitlement to a supply-driven arrangement, effectively stripping citizens of the right to demand work.
He added that while the Centre retains most decision-making powers, states would be forced to shoulder the bulk of the financial and administrative burden.
“Much has been spoken about the VB-G RAM G Bill. But beyond everything else, these changes will slowly make the scheme untenable and eventually kill the idea of a rights-based rural employment guarantee,” said Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The minister, who oversees Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, and IT & Biotechnology, argued that the proposed changes dilute fiscal federalism, particularly when states are already facing shrinking resources. He noted that tax devolution to states has dropped from 34% to 31%, below the 42% recommended by the Finance Commission, even as centrally sponsored schemes become increasingly restrictive.
By centralising powers and curbing local planning, the act weakens the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, which grants constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions, Kharge warned. This centralisation, he said, risks undermining the role of local bodies critical for MGNREGA’s effective implementation.
Kharge questioned how the legislation could be called a reform when it fails to strengthen the scheme for rural workers who depend on it for livelihood security. He said reducing a legal right to work into a “token centrally sponsored scheme” defeats MGNREGA’s very purpose.
Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had accused the Centre of deliberately dismantling MGNREGA to make poor villagers and farm labourers subservient to the wealthy. “We fought for the retention of the original MGNREGA and its provisions should be maintained. I condemn the new Act. It only helps the government,” he said.
The Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G Bill) on December 18. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on Sunday, making it law. The act replaces the 20-year-old MGNREGA and guarantees 125 days of rural wage employment annually.
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