The Telangana Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution demanding that the Union government retain the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and withdraw the 2025 VB-G RAM G Act that replaced it, The Hindu reported.
The resolution came days after the Punjab Assembly on December 30 also passed unanimously a resolution against the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act. The Punjab Assembly also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government of “taking away the right to guaranteed employment” from Dalit labourers.
On Friday, Chief Minister and Congress leader A Revanth Reddy said in the Telangana Assembly that the new VB-G RAM G Act was detrimental to the poor, adding that it undermined the “original purpose” of the employment guarantee Act, The New Indian Express reported.
“It has put an end to the system of preparing work plans based on demand,” the newspaper quoted Reddy as having said. “The old demand-based system should be continued.”
The 2025 VB-G RAM G Bill, replacing the MGNREGA, was given assent by the president on December 21, two days after it was passed by Parliament amid protests by Opposition parties.
The MGNREGA was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of households in rural areas. The scheme guaranteed 100 days of unskilled work annually for every rural household that wants it, covering all districts in the country.
Under the new law, the number of guaranteed workdays will increase to 125, while states’ share of costs will rise to 40%. The Union government will continue to bear the wage component, with states sharing material and administrative expenses.
The legislation has drawn criticism from economists and labour rights experts.
On December 27, the Congress also said that it would launch a nationwide protest from January 5 to demand the repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act.
On Friday, Reddy said that by removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the Act, the Union government had diluted the spirit of Gandhian philosophy. The new legislation would lead to fewer workdays and would be a disadvantage to women, who constitute 61.2% of workers, he added.
The chief minister also said that the new Act violated the federal spirit by requiring states to bear 40% of the costs, compared with the Union government fully funding the wages under the old Act, The Hindu reported.
Deputy Chief Minister M Bhatti Vikramarka and Minister for Rural Development D Seethakka also criticised the new Act and said that it was aimed at helping corporate companies get cheap labour.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy claimed that the VB-G RAM G Act was introduced with an intention to enhance MGNREGA, The New Indian Express reported.
He added that the new Act will help in the development of villages, the newspaper quoted him as saying.
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