Chandigarh: In a surprising move, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government has decided to implement the Viksit Bharat Guarantee Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) scheme, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA). According to an official notification issued on Saturday, the new scheme will come into force in Punjab from July 1.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, AAP and CPI(M), had been protesting against the BJP-led Union government's scheme since it was announced in December 2025. The Bhagwant Mann government's latest move has drawn sharp criticism from the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal, both of which questioned under what "deal" with the BJP this decision had been taken and whether it was linked to the recent video controversy involving Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
They alleged that the AAP government had "betrayed" Punjab's poor, Dalits and labourers and that its "anti-Punjab face" had once again been exposed.
The June 26 notification issued by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats marks a complete reversal of the Mann government's earlier stand on the scheme. In December last year, the Punjab Assembly had convened a special session and unanimously passed a resolution opposing the VB-G RAM G Act, which replaced the UPA-era MGNREGA.
"In order to align the rural development framework with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 by providing an enhanced statutory wage employment guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five (125) days in each financial year to such rural households whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work;
And to focus on employment, growth, convergence and saturation, the Government of Punjab is pleased to notify the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] Scheme, Punjab 2026, under the provisions of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025," the gazette notification said.
Congress seeks explanation from AAP chief
The Congress questioned under what "deal or compromise" with the BJP the Punjab government had implemented the scheme and demanded that AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal explain whether he had approved the decision.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said the timing of the scheme's implementation was as significant as it was surprising.
"Whether the sudden implementation of the scheme had something to do with the ongoing controversy related to the chief minister," he asked, referring to the alleged video row.
"Having been cornered both within and outside his party, is the chief minister trying to buy peace with the BJP?" Warring asked.
He said there appeared to be no justification for implementing the scheme when the Punjab Legislative Assembly had unanimously rejected it.
The Akal Takht had issued an edict against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, while opposition parties demanded action against him under the new anti-sacrilege law after an alleged objectionable video went viral. However, AAP and Mann have maintained that the person in the video is not the chief minister.
Warring also sought clarification from Arvind Kejriwal on whether he had approved the implementation of the VB-G RAM G scheme in Punjab.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the chief minister's "anti-Punjab face" had once again been exposed.
According to him, by making yet another major U-turn, the AAP government had once again "deceived" the people of Punjab.
Majithia alleged that a scheme unanimously rejected by the Punjab Legislative Assembly was now being implemented "through the back door."
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa accused the AAP government of blatant political hypocrisy for implementing the VB-G RAM G scheme after vehemently opposing it in the Assembly just months ago.
"Was the unanimous resolution of the Assembly nothing more than a publicity stunt? Punjabis deserve answers," he said.
On December 30, 2025, the Punjab Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution against the VB-G RAM G Act, accusing the BJP-led Centre of "taking away" the livelihood of poor and Dalit labourers by scrapping MGNREGA under a "deliberate conspiracy."
The House had recommended that the Punjab government urge the Centre to immediately restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in its original rights-based form.
