VB-G RAM G modernises safety nets, says BJP

The BJP on Friday said the VB-G RAM G Bill passed by Parliament is not about removing social safety nets but modernising them and asked Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to “educate himself” instead of spreading “misinformation” about the scheme.

This follows Rahul Gandhi’s accusation that the government has demolished 20 years of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in a single day by replacing it with the new job guarantees bill.

“VB–G RAM G isn’t a ‘revamp’ of MGNREGA. It demolishes the rights-based, demand-driven guarantee and turns it into a rationed scheme which is controlled from Delhi,” the LoP in the Lok Sabha said in a social media post. “It is anti-state and anti-village by design,” the Congress MP added.

Hitting back, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill is not about removing social safety nets. It is about modernising them, he added.

“By combining employment, skills, infrastructure, and accountability, it represents a forward-looking evolution beyond MGNREGA,” Malviya said in a post...

“Instead of spreading misinformation, Rahul Gandhi must educate himself about Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin),” he added.

Amid vociferous protests by the Opposition, Parliament on Thursday night passed the rural jobs guarantee bill that seeks to replace MGNREGA and promises 125 days of rural wage employment every year.

Under this centrally sponsored scheme, the financial liability would be shared between the Centre and the state governments. The proportion would be 90:10 for the northeastern and Himalayan states and 60:40 for all other states and Union territories (UTs) with legislature. For the UTs without a legislature, the whole cost would be borne by the Centre.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was a 100 per cent centrally sponsored programme, with the exception of material cost — which was shared 75:25 between the Centre and the states.

The MGNREGS is also demand-driven, meaning the government has to allocate additional funds if there is demand for work.

The VB-G RAM G Bill, on the other hand, provides for normative allocation to states, and any expenditure beyond it has to be borne by the state governments.

Malviya said MGNREGA was introduced with the intention of providing employment security to rural India. “While the intent was noble, over the years, the scheme has suffered from chronic issues such as corruption, delayed payments, poor asset quality, and limited long-term economic impact,” he said.

VB-G RAM-G is a “proposed alternative” that aims to correct these “structural flaws” while preserving the “core objective of rural empowerment,” he added.

Malviya further said VB-G RAM-G focuses on productive, village-centric asset creation, unlike MGNREGA, “which often prioritises short-term wage distribution over durable outcomes”.

Every project under this model is designed to contribute directly to local economic growth -- be it irrigation, storage, rural roads, skill hubs, or agri-infrastructure, ensuring long-term benefits rather than temporary relief, he said.

“VB-G RAM-G emphasises skill-linked employment instead of repetitive unskilled labour. Rural youth are trained while they work, increasing employability and enabling transition to higher-value livelihoods beyond daily wage dependence,” Malviya said.

The model also introduces “strict” accountability and transparency mechanisms, including real-time digital tracking, geo-tagged assets, direct benefit transfers, and community audits, he said.

This “drastically” reduces leakages and political misuse that have plagued MGNREGA, the BJP leader asserted.

“Most importantly, VB-G RAM-G shifts the philosophy from entitlement-based dependency to empowerment-driven development. Instead of locking rural families into perpetual wage work, it aims to build self-reliant villages capable of generating sustainable incomes,” he added.

Instead of spreading misinformation, Rahul Gandhi must educate himself about Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)

—Amit Malviya, BJP leader