Amritsar, Dec 23: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday criticised changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), saying the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-GRAM G) scheme could economically destabilise states including Punjab.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the Golden Temple, Badal said the new law shifts 40 per cent of funding responsibility to states, whereas previously the scheme was fully funded by the Union government. “The scheme guaranteeing 100 days of labour to the disadvantaged should be withdrawn immediately,” he said.
Badal also condemned the renaming of the programme. “The scheme was earlier named after the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who freed India from British rule. Playing politics and changing its name is not right,” he said.
The SAD chief urged the AAP government and other state parties to jointly protest the new legislation. He called the VB-GRAM G scheme “against the federal system” and said it undermines states’ autonomy.
