The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
Withdraw VB-GRAMG Bill Immediately
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly opposes the Union government’s move to introduce the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-GRAMG Bill), which seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The proposed bill completely negates the basic character of the MNREGA, which is a universal demand driven law providing a limited right to work. It legally absolves the Union government from its responsibility to allocate funds according to the demand.
The government’s claim of increasing guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days is merely cosmetic. In reality, the Bill opens the door to the exclusion of large sections of rural households in the name of rationalisation of job cards. The provision allowing governments to suspend employment for up to 60 days during peak agricultural seasons will deny work to rural households when it is most needed and make them dependent on landlords. Mandating digital attendance at work place is bound to cause immense difficulties to workers, like loss of work, and denial of their rights.
A major concern is the proposed shift in the funding pattern. The Bill reduces the Centre’s responsibility for wage payments from 100 per cent to a 60:40 sharing arrangement for major states. It shifts the responsibility of bearing the expenditure on unemployment allowance and delay compensation to the states. This places an unsustainable financial burden on state governments while denying them any role in the decision making process. The introduction of “normative allocation” – with state-wise expenditure ceilings imposed by the Centre and excess costs borne by states – will further curtail the programme’s reach and dilute the Centre’s accountability.
The sinister change in the scheme’s name from MNREGA to G RAM G also reflects the BJP-RSS ideological bent.
The CPI(M) demands that the VB-GRAMG Bill be withdrawn immediately. The Union government must instead engage in consultations with political parties, trade unions and organisations of the rural poor to strengthen MGNREGA and ensure its effective implementation as a universal and rights-based employment guarantee.