Punjab to convene special Assembly session against G RAM G Bill in Jan

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Friday said it would convene a special session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha next month against the Centre’s “attempt to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme”. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “The BJP government at the Centre is trying to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme. A special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha will be called in the second week of January to raise the voice of Punjabis against this oppression.”

It is learnt that the decision to convene the special Vidhan Sabha session was taken by the party’s top leaders, including AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, on Thursday evening. Currently, Kejriwal is on a three-day tour of the state. Meanwhile, the previous session of Vidhan Sabha, which was also special, held on November 24, was prorogued by the Governor on December 17. The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed in Parliament amidst protests by Opposition MPs.

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Earlier, when the Bill was introduced, the AAP had condemned it, saying it was a step by the Union government to dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and called it a “well-planned deception” aimed at weakening the rights, dignity, and livelihood security of rural labourers. AAP spokesperson Neel Garg had said the Modi government has consistently relied on “hollow slogans and political theatrics to mislead the public, while systematically eroding welfare guarantees meant for the poorest sections of society”.

“This is not merely a change of name, nor is it about removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name. The real issue is that the Centre has effectively sounded the death knell for MGNREGA and is trying to hide its anti-labourer agenda behind manufactured TV debates and distractions,” he had said. Garg had questioned how rural labourers would now access employment. “Will a poor worker now have to approach the Prime Minister for work? Even reaching the sarpanch was difficult; this policy completely disconnects employment from the grassroots and centralises power in Delhi,” he had added.

Even the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has expressed concern over the Union government’s proposal to institute a 60:40 ratio between the Centre and viewed the introduction of a cost-sharing mechanism as fundamentally unacceptable, as it diluted the core essence of the scheme and defeated its primary objective of guaranteeing livelihood security through wage employment in rural areas.