Bengaluru

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, along with several party legislators and MPs, were taken into preventive custody on Tuesday during a “Raj Bhavan Chalo” protest against the Centre’s move to replace MGNREGA with VB-G RAM G.

The Congress leaders were stopped by police when they tried to march toward Lok Bhavan, alleging that the Union government’s action undermines rural employment rights and weakens Panchayat authority. After delivering speeches, the leaders voluntarily boarded a police bus and courted arrest.

Speaking to the crowd before detention, Siddaramaiah clarified that the “Ram” in VB-G RAM G stands for Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajivika Mission (Gramin), and not Dasharath Ram or Seeta Ram. He accused the Centre of dismantling the rural livelihood framework introduced under the UPA government, calling MGNREGA a crucial right to employment.

“MGNREGA ensured work for around five crore people, including differently-abled individuals, in rural areas. Under VB-G RAM G, the Centre decides the work, sidelining Panchayats,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that Panchayats previously received around Rs one crore each, which they would now lose.

He vowed to continue the fight until MGNREGA is restored, asserting that VB-G RAM G does not guarantee employment in the way the previous scheme did. “Gandhiji said villages must develop for the nation to progress. By scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP has betrayed Mahatma Gandhi’s vision,” he said, calling for protests in every village across Karnataka.

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Surjewala accused the Centre of deliberately targeting the rural employment scheme and urged the state government to rename Panchayat offices as “Mahatma Gandhi Kendra.” Shivakumar warned of political repercussions for the BJP, stating, “Rural communities will reject VB-G RAM G, and the BJP will face the consequences of repealing the employment guarantee law.”