Punjab AAP govt notifies VB-G RAM G scheme despite earlier opposition

The notification was issued by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats

The AAP government in Punjab, which had been opposing the Viksit Bharat Guarantee Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), has notified the rural employment scheme that will come into force from July 1 in the state.

The Bhagwant Mann government's latest move drew sharp criticism from the Congress and the Akali Dal, which asked under what "deal" with the BJP this step has been taken and wondered if it was linked to the video row related to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

They alleged that the AAP government had "betrayed" Punjab's poor, Dalits and labourers and its 'anti-Punjab face" has once again been exposed.

 

The June 26 notification of the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats marks a complete reversal of the Mann government's stand on the scheme that replaces the UPA-era MGNREGA, as it had convened a special session of the Punjab Assembly last December which had unanimously passed a resolution against the VB-G RAM G Act.

"In order to align the rural development framework with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 by providing an enhanced statutory wage employment guarantee of one hundred and twenty five (125) days in each financial year to such rural households whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work;  "And to focus on employment, growth, convergence and saturation, the government of Punjab is pleased to notify the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] Scheme, Punjab 2026, under the provisions of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025," read the gazette notification.

The opposition Congress asked under what "deal and compromise" with the BJP, the Punjab government implemented the scheme in Punjab and demanded that AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal explain if he has approved it.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said the timing of the implementation of the scheme in Punjab is as important as it is surprising.

"Whether the sudden implementation of the scheme had something to do with the ongoing controversy related to the chief minister," he asked, referring to the video row.

"Having been cornered both within and outside his party, is the chief minister trying to buy peace with the BJP?" Warring said.

Otherwise, Warring said, there appeared to be no reason for the scheme to be implemented in Punjab when the state legislative assembly had unanimously resolved to reject it.

The Akal Takht had issued an edict against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the opposition parties had demanded action against him under a new anti-sacrilege law after an alleged objectionable video went viral, though AAP and Mann maintained that the video in question is not of him.

Warring also asked AP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to explain if he approved of Mann implementing the VB G RAMG scheme in Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that by quietly implementing the "VB G RAM G" scheme, the AAP government has "betrayed" Punjab's poor, Dalits and labourers.

He said the "anti-Punjab" face of the Chief Minister has once again been exposed.

According to him, by taking yet another major U-turn in this matter, the AAP government has once again "deceived" the people of Punjab.

Majithia alleged that a scheme which had been unanimously rejected by the Punjab Legislative Assembly is now being implemented through the back door.

Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, accused the AAP government of indulging in blatant political hypocrisy by implementing the VB-G RAM G Scheme after having vehemently opposed it in the Punjab Assembly just a few months ago.

"Was the unanimous resolution of the Assembly nothing more than a publicity stunt? Punjabis deserve answers," he said.

On December 30, 2025, the Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution against the VB-G RAM G Act, accusing the BJP-led central government of "taking away" the livelihood of the poor and Dalit labourers by scrapping MGNREGA under a "deliberate conspiracy".

The House had recommended that the Punjab government urge the Centre to immediately restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act ( MGNREGA) to its original right-based form.