The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has strongly criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre, saying the new VB-G-RAM-G Bill is weakening the legal right to rural employment that existed under MGNREGA. The party said the government is trying to show big reforms only through publicity instead of improving real performance on the ground. APCC president Bosiram Siram said that under MGNREGA, rural workers had a legal and demand-based right to work. But under the proposed Bill, this right will depend on government approval and budget allocation. He said this removes the security that poor villagers earlier enjoyed. Siram was reacting to recent statements made by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, BJP MP Tapir Gao and state BJP president Kaling Moyong. These leaders had promoted the Bill as an important reform for rural employment.
Siram said slogans like “Viksit Bharat” cannot hide the fact that the guarantee of work has been diluted. He added that rural employment should not depend on political decisions or changing priorities of the ruling party.He also questioned the government’s claim of increasing job availability from 100 to 125 days. Siram said that in many districts people do not even receive the present 100 days of work. He added that in several places, workers are able to find only 30 to 40 days of employment and wages are often delayed. He said pending dues must first be cleared before making new promises. The APCC further said the proposed 90:10 funding pattern will put pressure on hill and tribal states with low revenue. Siram warned that greater central control over funds may result in states cutting back on employment, which would mainly hurt tribal workers.
He also said that the Bill reduces the role of Panchayati Raj Institutions. According to him, local bodies will lose power if decisions and approvals are controlled from Delhi. The BJP, however, has claimed that gram panchayats will benefit. Siram expressed concern that the new focus on building infrastructure may exclude landless labourers, women and elderly workers who depend on daily wages. He said MGNREGA was designed to support people directly, not to prioritise contracts or construction projects. He also said the BJP talks about transparency but, in reality, there are delays in wage payments, reduced allocations and other problems such as exclusion from job cards. He described the BJP’s promotion of the Bill as “propaganda, not policy performance”.
