Punjab Outlook

SAS Nagar: A senior Congress leader and former Health Minister of Punjab Balbir Singh Sidhu today strongly condemned the Modi government’s anti poor  move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the so-called “G RAM G Act,” terming it a direct assault on the economic security and constitutional rights of rural India.
Mr Sidhu said that MGNREGA is not merely a welfare scheme but a landmark rights-based legislation enacted by the UPA government to guarantee 100 days of wage employment to rural households. “MGNREGA empowered the poorest of the poor, strengthened rural infrastructure, reduced distress migration, and provided dignity of labour. Diluting or replacing it reflects the BJP’s anti-poor mindset,” he asserted.
The former minister pointed out that instead of strengthening MGNREGA by ensuring timely wage payments and increasing workdays, the Modi government systematically weakened the scheme through budgetary cuts, delayed payments, and arbitrary use of technology. “Now, by proposing to replace it with the G RAM G Act, the Centre wants to dismantle a legal entitlement and convert it into a discretionary scheme, fully controlled by the government,” he said.
He warned that removing the statutory guarantee of employment would leave millions of rural families at the mercy of bureaucratic decisions and political whims. “This move undermines the spirit of social justice enshrined in our Constitution and betrays the interests of farmers, labourers, Dalits, and marginalised communities,” he added.
Mr Sidhu further stated that Punjab, like many other states, has witnessed how MGNREGA acted as a lifeline during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. “At a time when rural distress, unemployment, and inflation are rising, weakening MGNREGA is both insensitive and irresponsible,” he said.
He demanded that the Modi government immediately withdraw its proposal, restore adequate funding for MGNREGA, clear all pending wage dues, and hold consultations with states and stakeholders. “The Congress party will strongly oppose any attempt to snatch away the hard-won rights of rural India and will take this issue to the streets and Parliament,” he warned.
The Congress leader said that the Modi government has resorted to a dubious ploy by associating the new law with the name of Lord Ram replacing the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, in an attempt to mislead people and garner votes in the name of religion.