- MGNREGA replacement criticised after VB G RAM G Bill passage
- MGNREGA replacement seen as shift from right to work model
The MGNREGA replacement proposed by the BJP led NDA government has triggered sharp criticism from BC Finance Corporation Chairman Nuthi Srikanth Goud. He alleged that the Centre is attempting to erase the legacy of the Nehru Gandhi family by renaming landmark welfare schemes. He specifically targeted the passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin Bill 2025, which replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Hyderabad: Speaking on December 23, Srikanth Goud described the MGNREGA replacement as a historic blunder. He said the change goes far beyond renaming and amounts to dismantling one of India’s most important rights based welfare programmes. He accused the NDA government of using its parliamentary majority to rewrite the country’s welfare history and remove the Gandhi family’s contributions from public memory. “The NDA government is using its majority to rewrite India’s welfare history and erase the contributions of the Gandhi family from public memory,” he said.
Srikanth Goud expressed serious concern over what he described as a fundamental shift in the nature of rural employment support. He said the new VB G RAM G scheme moves away from a demand driven and rights based framework to a supply driven mission model. Although the guaranteed employment days increase from 100 to 125, he argued that the legal right to work has been weakened. “Under MGNREGA, rural workers had a legal right to demand work from the state. That right has now been replaced by a supply side model where the government decides when and where work will be offered,” he stated in a media statement on Tuesday.
He also criticised the revised funding pattern under the MGNREGA replacement. The new 60:40 funding ratio between the Centre and States replaces the earlier model where the Centre bore most of the cost. According to him, this creates an unfunded mandate and places extra pressure on already stressed state finances. He said states would now carry a heavier burden without adequate support.
Meanwhile, the government has defended the new scheme by highlighting measures such as digital attendance, geotagging of worksites, and seasonal pauses during harvest periods. However, Srikanth Goud warned that these steps could threaten rural livelihoods. “Introducing a seasonal pause may help the agricultural economy, but it risks cutting off survival income for landless rural workers when they need it the most,” he said. He also raised doubts about digital monitoring in areas with poor connectivity and low literacy.
Srikanth Goud further argued that the MGNREGA replacement fits a wider pattern of renaming welfare schemes to remove associations with Congress leaders and icons.
He cited changes such as Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana becoming Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Indira Awaas Yojana becoming Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin, and JNNURM becoming AMRUT. “The pattern is clear – remove every trace of Nehru, Indira, Rajiv, or even Mahatma Gandhi, and replace them with schemes named after BJP icons or generic titles. This is not reform. This is political rebranding,” he said.
While the NDA government links the changes to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, Srikanth Goud alleged that ideology drives the narrative. “Under the pretext of fiscal discipline and technological transparency, the government is pushing an agenda to deconstruct the Congress’s historic contributions to India’s welfare architecture,” he said. He added that removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name is symbolically and politically inappropriate and warned the issue could become a major election flashpoint.
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