BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Friday strongly rebutted allegations made by the Congress leadership on the VB–G RAM G Bill, terming them misleading, politically motivated, and divorced from ground realities.
Chugh said the Congress was fully aware that during the UPA regime, the MGNREGA scheme had become corruption-ridden, plagued by fake job cards, the dominance of middlemen, and prolonged delays in wage payments, which caused maximum hardship to the poorest workers.
Highlighting the sharp contrast in budgetary commitment, Chugh said MGNREGA allocations during the UPA era stagnated between Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 33,000 crore for several years. In contrast, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 11 years of decisive leadership, the allocation has risen to Rs. 86,000 crore—nearly 2.5 times higher—with emergency spending touching Rs. 1.11 lakh crore during national crises. “This reflects real commitment, not tokenism,” he said.
Chugh stated that the NDA government has transformed rural employment delivery by enforcing transparency and accountability. Over the last 11 years, more than Rs. 5 lakh crore has been released under MGNREGA, far exceeding UPA-era spending. He noted that wages are now transferred directly into workers’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Aadhaar seeding, and digital muster rolls, ensuring timely and leak-proof payments.
He further highlighted a landmark feature of the VB–G RAM G Bill—the 60-day pause provision—which allows States to temporarily halt scheme works during peak sowing and harvesting seasons. According to Chugh, this provision ensures adequate farm labour availability, protects agricultural productivity, and corrects long-standing distortions where employment schemes competed with farming operations. He said the provision makes VB–G RAM G one of the first rural employment frameworks to actively support the farming cycle.
Clarifying the intent of the new legislation, Chugh said the VB–G RAM G Bill does not dilute rural employment but expands it. The statutory employment guarantee has been enhanced from 100 to 125 days, work has been aligned with the creation of productive assets such as water security and rural infrastructure, and payments have become faster and more predictable through digital systems.
Taking a swipe at the Congress, Chugh said that for the opposition party, social justice remained merely a slogan, whereas for the Modi government it translates into real wages, real accountability, and real dignity for workers. “Social justice is not defined by press statements but by what reaches the worker’s bank account—and VB–G RAM G delivers exactly that,” he asserted.
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