BJP, Congress brace for showdown in Punjab over new rural jobs scheme

Punjab will witness a political face-off this week as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress prepare to contest statewide campaigns over the Centre’s decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, Viksit Bharat Guarantee for 2025.

While the BJP will start its awareness campaign on January 7, 2026, the Congress has announced a state-wide protest movement, ‘Save MGNREGA’, which will start from Gurdaspur on January 8, 2026.

According to state president Sunil Jakhar, the BJP aims to “expose misleading propaganda spread by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress against this welfare scheme for the poor.” “Public will be made aware of the benefits of VB-G RAM G during the campaign starting from Fazilka. Party leaders and workers will cover all Assembly constituencies in the coming days and break this web of misinformation through a comprehensive public awareness programme,” Mr. Jakhar said on Tuesday.

“In the past, no one was held accountable for not providing 100 days of employment to the workers, but under the new law, accountability will be improved and the rights of the poor will no longer be denied. With the implementation of this scheme, corruption will be stopped and the entire wage amount will directly reach the bank accounts of the workers. This is exactly the reason why the AAP government and the Congress are opposing this new pro-poor scheme and spreading lies in the society on this issue,” he added. Jakhar.

On the other hand, Congress called the BJP’s campaign as ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ a last-minute ‘firefighting’ measure against the Congress’s nationwide campaign.

Congress State unit president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said: “BJP was trying to defend the indefensible as it was worried about the party’s campaign across the country.”