‘Vote chori sarkaar’ perfected ‘gramin mazdoori chori’: Congress alleges wage theft under VB-G RAM G

The Congress on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of weakening rural employment security alleging that irregularities under the new VBG RAM G scheme had resulted in workers being marked present on official records despite not receiving work on the groundCongress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh cited a media investigation into the implementation of the scheme in droughthit Beed district of Maharashtra He alleged that the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act MGNREGA had undermined a key safety net for rural householdsRamesh described the transition as a ldquosurgical strikerdquo on rural employment security and accused the ruling government of presiding over the alleged diversion of workersrsquo wagesCongress cites investigation into Beed worksitesIn a post on X Ramesh said Beed and other districts in Maharashtra were facing severe drought conditions making guaranteed rural employment particularly important for affected familiesldquoBeed 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 VBG RAM G is nothing less than a surgical strike on the social safety net that protected rural Indiardquo he saidRamesh referred to a field investigation by Scroll which reported that workers listed as present at five worksites in Beed were not found at the locations visited by the reporter The investigation also reported that several villagers said they had not worked for months despite official records showing employmentJairam Ramesh alleges diversion of wagesCiting the investigation Ramesh alleged that local politicians were benefiting from wages recorded against workers who had not actually workedldquoInstead 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 BJPruled states has also been revealed in the mediardquo Ramesh saidHe added ldquoThis is not just corruption but systemic theft of workers wages The Vote Chori Sarkaar has perfected gramin mazdoori chori rural labour theft alsordquoThese are allegations made by the Congress and reported findings from the cited investigation The claims of responsibility and wage diversion would need to be established through official inquiries and other evidenceCongress renews criticism of new rural jobs lawThe latest criticism follows earlier attacks by the Congress on the VBG RAM G Act which replaced MGNREGA from July 1 2026 The party has argued that the new framework risks excluding eligible workers through technologybased systems increases centralisation and reduces the role of gram panchayatsThe Congress has also raised concerns over alleged attendance fraud arguing that digital records cannot by themselves guarantee that workers have received employment or wagesNew scheme guarantees 125 days of employmentThe Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin Act 2025 came into force nationwide on July 1 replacing the twodecadeold MGNREGA framework introduced under the Congressled United Progressive Alliance governmentAccording to the Union government the new law provides a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per eligible rural household in a financial year compared with 100 days under MGNREGA The government has said the framework is intended to strengthen rural livelihoods improve village infrastructure and promote transparency through technologyenabled monitoringWith inputs from PTI