Punjab's resolution on VB-G RAM G political India bloc spreading misinformation Haryana CM

Chandigarh, Jan 5 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday accused the INDIA bloc of spreading misinformation on the VB-G RAM G scheme and said the resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly against it was a 'political' one.
    Talking to reporters here, Saini said if the Congress had any genuine suggestions, they should have raised those in the Lok Sabha. Instead, he alleged, they avoid debate, shut down discussions, and walk away without answers.
    Calling the Congress "an expert in spreading lies", he alleged that the opposition is spreading "misinformation".
    "If any scheme is improved, Congress and INDI Alliance have a problem with that", the chief minister said.
    The Punjab Assembly on December 30 unanimously passed a resolution against the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar Aajeevika Mission (Grameen) (VB-RAM G) Act in the Vidhan Sabha, accusing the BJP-led Centre of "taking away" the livelihoods of the poor and Dalit labourers by scrapping the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) under a "deliberate conspiracy".
    Saini said every time welfare reforms are introduced for the poor, "Congress and the INDI alliance begin questioning the initiatives".
    "People of the country and the state have seen Congress' face and understood its character," he said.
    Saini's remarks follow the announcement by the Congress on Saturday about a nationwide ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ from January 10 to February 25 to demand the withdrawal of the VB G-RAM-G Act, restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law, the right to work, and the authority of panchayats.
    "I want to tell INDI Alliance people that they should tell the country's labourers and workers what facilities were available during their time (under the Congress-led UPA government), how corruption took place, how workers did not get due benefits...
    "The absence of biometric authentication and effective monitoring made it impossible to verify whether registered workers were genuine or whether wages reached the intended beneficiaries. As a result, funds were routinely siphoned off," he claimed.
    Targeting Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, his Haryana counterpart said the resolution against the VB-G RAM G Act reflected political opportunism rather than concern for rural welfare, as it neither cited any data nor offered a single constructive suggestion.
    Saini said Mann should have clearly read the Act and accused the opposition parties of "deliberately misleading the public on an issue that concerns the livelihoods of crores of rural workers and farmers".
    Instead of political theatrics between the Congress and the AAP, Mann should ensure Punjab pays Rs 400 wages like Haryana, instead of the current Rs 339, he said.
    The Haryana chief minister claimed that when Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Punjab, many MGNREGA workers complained to him that they were not getting their due and said "contractors are embezzling the money".
    Citing a social audit conducted in 5,915 out of the 13,304-gram panchayats in Punjab, he said it revealed "10,663 cases of financial irregularities, including illegal withdrawals in the name of road and canal cleaning".
    Despite these findings and intervention by central teams, no recovery was made, and no action was taken against those responsible, he further alleged.
    "Public money meant for labourers continued to be diverted, while genuine workers were left unpaid," Saini said.
    The fundamental overhaul of MGNREGA will support genuine labourers "betrayed" by the previous governments, with more guaranteed workdays, higher wages, transparent payments and creation of durable assets, the Haryana chief minister said.
    Adding that the new Act will replace an outdated structure, he also said it will put an end to the corruption and inefficiencies.
    "The MGNREGA, launched nearly two decades ago, was conceived in a different economic and social context. Like all public welfare schemes, it required reform as circumstances changed. However, successive governments failed to address its structural weaknesses", he said.
    The VB-G RAM G Bill, which repeals the MGNREGA, was passed with a voice vote amid protests in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it.
    On December 21, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Bill, making it an Act, which guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household every financial year.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)