New Delhi [India], December 27 : Hitting out at the Congress party over its criticism of the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Saturday said that allegations being levelled against the legislation were "completely baseless" and asserted that the new framework enhances employment guarantees, transparency and accountability in rural development works.
"Instead of being present during the discussion on the G RAM G bill, he (Rahul Gandhi) went abroad for his monthly foreign trip. After returning, his routine work is to criticise the policies. The propaganda of confusion sponsored by the Congress party is entirely baseless. In this scheme, the guarantee of employment has been increased from 100 days to 125 days, " Trivedi said.
Trivedi said that while gram panchayats will continue to make decisions at the local level, the scheme has been linked to the PM Gati Shakti framework to ensure better coordination and visibility for development activities across neighbouring villages.
Higlighting new oversight mechanisms, he said, weekly monitoring would prevent irregularities such as delayed or duplicate payments. "It is not possible for someone to suddenly arrive and ask for payment after one year. In West Bengal, in 19 districts, payment was given for doing no work, and doing the same job again and again," he alleged.
The BJP MP said biometric authentication would be introduced to ensure that wages are paid directly to genuine workers.
"In at atleast 23 states, it was observed that work was done by machines and money was paid to people who didn't work. The worker performing the job will receive payment directly; no fraud can occur in their name", he said.
He added that states have been given the flexibility to suspend the scheme for up to 60 days during crop seasons, enabling labourers to remain engaged in local agricultural work rather than migrate for employment.
"For labourers, this Act will bring much better outcomes, involving the use of the latest technology, transparency and honesty, "Trivedi said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had now reoriented a scheme earlier "rife with corruption" under the UPA into one contributing to development, employment and a "new vision for villages in a developed India. "
Earlier in the day, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that the party will launch a nationwide 'Save MGNREGA' campaign from January 5, 2026.
Speaking to the media, Kharge said that party leaders took an oath during the meeting to protect MNREGA and oppose any attempt to weaken or alter the scheme.
"In the meeting, we took an oath. We decided to launch a nationwide movement, making the MNREGA scheme the central focus. Indian National Congress party, taking a leading role, will launch the MNREGA Save Campaign from January 5th," Kharge said.
Emphasising the importance of the scheme, the Congress chief said MNREGA is not merely a welfare programme but a constitutional right.
"We will protect the MNREGA at all costs. MNREGA is not just a scheme but a right to work guaranteed by the Constitution of India. We also pledge to democratically oppose every conspiracy to remove Gandhiji's name from MNREGA," he added.
On December 21, President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to the VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, marking a significant milestone in the transformation of rural employment policy.
The Act enhances the statutory wage employment guarantee to 125 days per financial year for rural households. It seeks to advance empowerment, inclusive growth, convergence of development initiatives and saturation-based delivery, thereby strengthening the foundation for a prosperous, resilient and self-reliant Rural Bharat.
Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, marking a decisive reform in India's rural employment and development framework. The Act replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, with a modern statutory framework that enhances livelihood security and is aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.