Maha Panchayat of MGNREGA workers asks President to withdraw the VB-G RAM G act
Bengaluru (PTI): A Maha Panchayat of MGNREGA Workers in Karnataka on Monday petitioned the President of India to withdraw the VB-G RAM G act and bring back the UPA-era employment guarantee scheme immediately.
MGNREGA Protection Coalition - Karnataka has sent a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu in this regard.
"With great pain and concern, we are writing this letter to you. On February 2, 2026, more than 10,000 rural agricultural workers (including women, Dalits, landless labourers, small farmers) from various parts of the state gathered at Freedom Park, Bengaluru as part of the Mahapanchayat,” the memorandum said.
“We are preparing and submitting this memorandum to you from Freedom Park where the Mahapanchayat is being held. We earnestly request your immediate intervention in our distress," it added.
It has been 20 years since the MGNREGA was enacted on the simple principle that workers struggling for employment should get work in their own villages with minimum wages, the Maha panchayat said.
"Another key objective of this law was the conservation of local natural resources and environmental protection, so that these resources would continue to generate employment for local people in the future. Desilting village tanks, canals and streams to ensure water retention, soil conservation, and creating more work in farmers' fields were all integral to this vision," it added.
Noting that there are 26 crore registered workers in MGNREGA, the Maha Panchayat said, in Karnataka alone, 1.79 crore people are registered. More than half of them are women, and about 30 per cent are Dalits and Adivasis.
"A law that provided employment to rural people on such a massive scale should have grown stronger every year. Instead, over the past 11 years, the BJP-led union government has steadily weakened this law -- tightening central controls, denying adequate financial support. As a consequence, wage payments have been routinely delayed," it said.
Excessive digitisation has resulted in workers not getting paid despite having worked, and crores of job cards have been deleted. Despite all these problems, for lakhs of families in Karnataka, MGNREGA has remained a lifeline, it added.
Alleging that in December 2025, the union government suddenly and without any prior consultation repealed MGNREGA and in its place enacted a new law called VB-GRAM G Act, which was "rushed through in the Parliament, the memorandum said.
This new law does not address any of the prevailing challenges that MGNREGA was facing. Instead, the VB-GRAMG Act will only increase corruption.
"Decisions about where work should be carried out and what kind of work should be done are now taken entirely by the union government. Under MGNREGA, state governments had to contribute only 10 percent of the funds,” it said.
“Under the new law, states must contribute 40 per cent. When the Union government already owes large sums to Karnataka, imposing this additional burden is unjust," it further said.
Expressing concerns, the Maha Panchayat said, the union government has repealed MGNREGA and implemented the VB-G RAM G Act, effectively turning our right to livelihood into a matter of central discretion.
MGNREGA workers across the country have consistently raised demands that employment should not be limited to 100 days per family, but should be 100 days per individual, amounting to approximately 300 days per family; wages should be increased to a minimum of Rs 600 per day; and as working people who earn by labour, our wages must be paid within the same month, the memorandum further said.
"None of these justified demands were addressed. Instead, the government has moved to take away even our existing rights," it added.
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Case registered over social media posts 'threatening' Kerala CM’s security officer
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A case has been registered and a probe launched into social media posts allegedly threatening a member of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s security team with consequences once the UDF comes to power, officials said on Sunday.
The Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Police registered the case based on a complaint filed by Chief Minister’s security staff member Sandeep Sasidharan.
The Congress had earlier alleged that Sandeep and another officer, Anil Kumar, brutally assaulted two Youth Congress-KSU activists including using flower pot when they protested against the Chief Minister during the Navakerala Sadas programme in Alappuzha in 2023.
A subsequent probe was conducted against both officers, and the Crime Branch later gave them a clean chit.
Recently, following the conclusion of the state assembly election on April 9, several social media posts allegedly made by Congress, Youth Congress and KSU activists claimed that revenge would be taken once the LDF government is removed and the UDF comes to power.
Police said cases have been registered against Facebook accounts named Arun Rajendran, Tom Kuriakose, Yaser KP, Sony Panamthanam, Sarath Pillai, KSU Kanjiramkulam, Rahul John C and Youth Congress Battle.
According to the FIR, the complainant’s photograph and name were used in several social media posts threatening him with consequences and containing abusive language.
Police said the social media account holders have been identified and will soon be summoned as part of the investigation.
The case has been registered under Sections 296(b) (uttering obscene words causing public annoyance), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (acts done by several persons) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
