Congress calls Modi government’s replacement of MGNREGA a ‘surgical strike’ on rural workers

The Congress on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of undermining rural India's social safety net by replacing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment (MGNREGA), calling the move a “surgical strike” on rural livelihoods and alleging “gramin mazdoori chori” (theft of rural wages).

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh cited a media report alleging discrepancies between official records and ground realities under the VB-G RAM G scheme in drought-hit Maharashtra's Beed district, where thousands of workers were reportedly listed as employed on paper, but no workers were found at five sites.

In his post on X, Ramesh said, "Beed and other districts in Maharashtra are facing the worst drought in a decade. MGNREGA was the guarantee of support in such times of extreme distress. But its replacement with VB-G RAM G is nothing less than a surgical strike on the social safety net that protected rural India."

Citing a detailed field-level investigation by a reporter, Ramesh said it found that most villagers had not worked in months, despite being shown as employed.

"Instead, local politicians are pocketing their wages; no doubt belonging to the ruling party. Evidence of such fake attendance and clone app scams in UP and other BJP-ruled states has also been revealed in the media," Ramesh said.

"This is not just corruption, but systemic theft of workers' wages. The Vote Chori Sarkaar has perfected 'gramin mazdoori chori (rural labour theft)' also," the Congress leader said.

Last week, the Congress attacked the Modi government, saying the only guarantee the VB-G RAM Act extends is technology-driven exclusion, centralisation and the emasculation of gram panchayats.

The Congress also slammed the BJP over reported attendance fraud within the VB-G RAM G scheme.

Attacking the rights of the poor while invoking the name of Lord Shri Ram is the BJP's true modus operandi, it said.

The VB-G RAM G Act came into effect on July 1, 2026, following approval during the Winter Session of Parliament in 2025. The legislation replaced the 100-day employment guarantee under MGNREGA with a 125-day guarantee. However, the opposition has criticised the new law for removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme and altering the funding ratio to a 60:40 split between the central and state governments.