In a strong rebuke to the Modi administration’s recent policy shift, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the BJP government of undermining Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy while exploiting religious symbols for political gain.

Speaking to reporters in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Surjewala criticized the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the newly introduced Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly abbreviated as VB-G RAM G.

“In the last 11 years, Mahatma Gandhi’s spectacles have been borrowed for propaganda, but his ideals were ignored. In a similar manner, the BJP seized power in the name of Lord Rama, but ignored his ideals. This is the manner in which the BJP runs the government,” Surjewala stated.

The Congress MP claimed the policy change would have far-reaching consequences for India’s rural poor. According to Surjewala, approximately 12.5 crore individuals from tribal, Dalit, and backward class communities will be directly affected, with the total impact extending to around 50 crore people when accounting for family members.

The MGNREGA, introduced during the UPA government’s tenure, has been a cornerstone of India’s rural employment policy since 2005. The program guaranteed 100 days of wage employment annually to every rural household whose adult members volunteered for unskilled manual labor. The scheme became particularly crucial during economic downturns and the COVID-19 pandemic when millions of migrant workers returned to their villages.

Highlighting key differences between the original scheme and its replacement, Surjewala explained that MGNREGA operated on a demand-driven model where workers could approach their local panchayat to request employment. If work wasn’t provided within the stipulated timeframe, workers were entitled to unemployment allowances.

“Under the new law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has determined that everything will be decided from Delhi. The people sitting in Delhi will say which state, district, or village will get how much work,” he said, suggesting a shift toward centralized control.

Another significant change involves funding responsibilities. While MGNREGA was entirely funded by the central government, the new VB-G RAM G requires states to contribute 40 percent of the program’s costs. Surjewala argued this would create an unsustainable financial burden on already stretched state budgets.

“As one knows, states cannot pay 40 percent of the funds, the idea of providing work to the poor will automatically stop,” he asserted.

The introduction of VB-G RAM G comes amid ongoing debates about MGNREGA’s effectiveness and financial sustainability. Critics of the original scheme have pointed to issues such as delayed wage payments, corruption at local levels, and questions about the quality of assets created. However, supporters maintain that despite implementation challenges, MGNREGA provided crucial income support to millions of rural households, particularly during times of economic distress.

In response to the policy change, the Odisha Congress is planning to mobilize opposition through a campaign titled ‘MGNREGA Bachho Sangram’ (Save MGNREGA Struggle). State Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu announced the initiative would begin on January 10 and continue until February 25, with public meetings organized from district to state levels.

“Public meetings will be held from the district level to the state level, opposing the new law that has hit the poor people,” Lallu said.

The controversy highlights the ongoing political tensions surrounding India’s approach to rural poverty alleviation and employment generation, with fundamental disagreements about the role of centralized versus decentralized governance in addressing these challenges.