Bengaluru

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said his government demands the Centre to scrap the new VB-G RAM G act and bring back the UPA-era MGNREGA that "gave right to jobs to poor, vulnerable, women and small farmers".

He alleged that the new legislation took away the right to livelihood, the powers of panchayats, and put an additional burden on the finances of states.

"The NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has passed a legislation called VB-G RAM G Act, which repealed MGNREGA that gave poor and vulnerable sections of the society, women and small farmers the right to demand work at their place (village). Now in the new VB-G RAM G Act, the government will notify in which Gram Panchayat the work should be taken," Siddaramaiah said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said both the Congress party and the state government will take up the issue simultaneously and asserted, "We will have an action plan immediately in this regard".

"The Congress along with the public, labourers and all like-minded will fight until the VB-G RAM G Act is withdrawn, like it was done in case of farm laws," he added.

On the impact of the new legislation, Siddaramaiah said, "The Modi government has done three things with the VB-G RAM G Act. It has taken away the right to livelihood of the vulnerable sections of the society, particularly women, poor and small farmers. It has taken away the powers of Panchayat, and it has also added additional financial burden to the states without any consultation."

"They have not consulted the people either. In a way they have shown a dictatorial behaviour" he said, adding that the demand based scheme has now been made a supply based one, in terms of providing jobs.

The CM said the state government urges the Centre to scrap the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, and bring back the UPA-era MGNREGA.

"We also urge to restore people’s right to work, and restore the rights of panchayats to self-govern," he said.

Siddaramaiah claimed that the Modi government by repealing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has systematically weakened village-level governance and damaged the rural economy.

The new law was introduced in Parliament on December 17 and passed the very next day, without adequate discussion, he said, pointing out that across the country, around 12.16 crore workers depend on MGNREGA, of whom 6.21 crore are women. About 17 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes and 11 percent to Scheduled Tribes.

In Karnataka alone, there are 71.18 lakh MGNREGA workers, including 36.75 lakh women, accounting for 51.6 percent of the workforce, he added.

Accusing the central government of "dismantling pro-people laws" to benefit corporate interests, Siddaramaiah said, the "guide" for the BJP is RSS.

Referring to Manusmriti, he alleged that it promotes denial of economic independence and dignity to women, Dalits, and Shudras.

"The RSS, which is inspired by such ideology, guides the BJP government."

Drawing a strong analogy, he said while Nathuram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi physically, the present BJP-led government at the Centre was attempting to erase his legacy by removing his name from the MGNREGA.

"By removing Mahatma Gandhi's name he is being killed for the second time. So much hate shouldn't be there..."

The CM said, under the earlier Act, employment was guaranteed locally, enabling rural asset creation and strengthening village economies. Workers had a legal right to demand employment for at least 100 days a year.

The only achievement of the central government in the last 11 years has been changing the names of schemes, he said, noting that "nearly 30 pro-people schemes have either been renamed or rolled back by the Modi Government."

Pointing out that under Section 5(1) of the new law, employment would be provided only in areas notified by the government, Siddaramaiah said wage employment would be unavailable for at least 60 days during peak agricultural seasons, and inflation-linked wage revision has been removed.

He further highlighted that the Centre has shifted the funding pattern from full central assistance to a 60:40 Centre-State ratio, imposing a heavy financial burden on states.

This has been without consultations with the state, he said, violates Articles 258 and 280 of the Constitution and undermines India’s federal structure.

Responding to a question, the CM said there will be additional financial burden of approximately Rs 3,000 crore per year on Karnataka, with the new legislation.

The powers of gram panchayats have been taken away, which is against decentralisation, Constitution and the federal system, he further said, warning that the new law would increase unemployment, reduce women’s participation in the workforce, intensify pressure on Dalit and tribal families, leads to the collapse of rural livelihoods, among other things.

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Deputy CM and state Congress President, D K Shivakumar said from panchayat level, MGNREGA workers and leaders across party lines will be called for conventions, and Grama Sabhas will be held against the central government's move. It will also be held at the taluk, district and state level.

"The Centre will have to withdraw the VB-G RAM G Act, like they did with farm laws," he added.