The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the BJP-led Central Government of weakening the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), warning that recent changes to the scheme threaten the livelihoods of millions of rural labourers. Speaking at a press conference in Punjab on Sunday, AAP MLA and the party’s state chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the Centre’s move to alter the funding structure and operational framework of the scheme amounted to a systematic rollback of employment guarantees for the poor. He demanded the immediate withdrawal of the revised framework and restoration of MGNREGA in its original form.
Funding Changes Spark Political Row
Dhaliwal alleged that the Centre has diluted the scheme by ending its full financial responsibility. Under the revised structure, he said, the funding burden has been split in a 60:40 ratio between the Centre and the states, compared with the earlier model of complete central funding. He questioned how states were expected to bear the additional cost when GST revenues were largely collected and retained by the Centre.
The AAP leader also criticised the renaming of MGNREGA as the ‘VB-G RAM G Act’, saying the change was not merely symbolic but reflected a deeper shift in policy. According to him, the revised framework undermines the legal guarantee of employment that formed the core of the original law enacted in 2005.
Concerns Over Jobs & Rural Governance
Dhaliwal further claimed that the new policy restricts employment under the scheme during agricultural sowing and harvesting seasons, potentially leaving landless labourers without income for extended periods. He said the earlier guarantee of up to 100 days of work, with flexibility on when labourers could seek employment, was being gradually eroded.
The issue, he added, must be seen in the wider context of what he described as the Centre’s approach to welfare spending. Dhaliwal cited delayed or unpaid funds during recent floods in Punjab, alleging that despite announcements of relief, money for affected areas and rural development had not been released.
He also raised concerns about the impact on local self-government institutions. Gram Panchayats, Block Samitis and Zila Parishads, he said, had earlier played a key role in implementing development works through MGNREGA, but their role was now being reduced.
Dhaliwal reiterated that MGNREGA funding was not discretionary support but money owed to states through tax collections. He warned that if the Centre does not reverse the changes, the Aam Aadmi Party will step up its opposition and mobilise protests to protect rural employment and decentralised governance.