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The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday, January 23, passed a resolution opposing the Union government’s proposed Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, and urged the Union government to continue the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The Tamil Nadu government objected to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme and to proposed changes in budget sharing between the Union and state governments.
The VB-G RAM G Bill was passed by the Union government on Thursday, December 18. It aims to replace the nearly 20-year-old MGNREGA, enacted in 2005. Under the new bill, states would be required to bear 40% of the scheme’s cost, except in the case of northeastern states, Himalayan states, and Union Territories, where the funding pattern would be 90:10 between the Centre and the states. The bill has faced strong opposition from several states, including Karnataka.
Chief Minister MK Stalin moved the resolution, stating that the new bill would severely affect the livelihoods of rural people. He pointed out that under MGNREGA, around 74 lakh workers from 65 lakh families are employed annually in Tamil Nadu, with nearly 85% of them being women.
The resolution demands that fund allocation be based on a state’s implementation efficiency and that allocations remain consistent each year to protect employment opportunities for women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and persons with disabilities. It also calls for revising the proposed 60:40 funding pattern based on state performance and retaining the scheme’s original name – MGNREGA – in honour of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Chief Minister also questioned Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, asking whether he would raise these concerns with the Prime Minister, whom he had recently met.
The Telangana Assembly passed a resolution demanding that the Union government retain the rural employment guarantee scheme and reverse the new law, arguing that the VB-G RAM G Act undermines the original purpose of guaranteed work.
The Punjab Assembly similarly adopted a resolution against the legislation, accusing the Union government of “taking away the right to guaranteed employment.”
Kerala’s Chief Minister has written to the Prime Minister raising fiscal concerns, saying the new funding pattern would cause significant financial loss for the state and weaken cooperative federalism. In Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has vowed to continue protests and has written to the Prime Minister seeking suspension of the new Act, calling it a dilution of workers’ rights.
Opposition parties at the national level, including Congress leaders, have also launched nationwide protests against the VB-G RAM G Act, demanding restoration of MGNREGA.