By Amrit Pal Singh Sidhu
Bathinda, January 2: 2026
Under the "Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB—G RAM G) Act, 2025(VB-G RAM G)," rural labourers will now get 125 days of employment instead of 100 days, and the provision for unemployment allowance if work is not provided on time remains the same. The Bharatiya Janata Party questioned why Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is opposing a law that is in the interest of the laborers.
Speaking at a press conference at the party office in Bathinda today, Paramjit Singh Kainth, Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party Scheduled Caste Morcha, said that the AAP government in Punjab has completely failed to provide 100 days of employment to laborers under the existing MNREGA law in the last three years, but the Chief Minister is completely silent on this serious failure.
He pointed out that according to the MNREGA law, it is mandatory for the state government to provide work within 15 days of a laborer demanding it. If work is not provided, unemployment allowance has to be given, but the Punjab government neither provides work on time nor pays unemployment allowance.
Under Section 25 of MNREGA, action should be taken against the responsible officials in such a situation. BJP leader Kainth asked the Chief Minister where action has been taken in all 23 districts of the state till date? They are deceiving 62.5 percent of the rural population of Punjab, which has 13,304 village panchayats.
Kainth said that the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Bhagwant Mann has not ordered a high-level inquiry into the alleged irregularities in Punjab related to various scams involving the misuse and embezzlement of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). The fraudulent methods include creating fake job cards, preparing fake payment receipts, showing work that was never completed (such as road construction or material supply), and listing ineligible or deceased people as beneficiaries.
He further said that in cases involving Scheduled Caste laborers, action under the SC Act is mandatory, but the Chief Minister should tell how many such cases have resulted in action against the guilty officials. He alleged that the AAP government is not even conducting the mandatory social audits to conceal the corruption and irregularities taking place in MNREGA.
He alleged that the mandatory social audits under MNREGA were not conducted in 6,095 Gram Panchayats in 2024-25 and in 7,389 Gram Panchayats in 2025-26, which he termed as large-scale corruption. He further alleged that the Punjab government has not yet issued any action taken report on 3,986 cases of corruption caught by the Special Audit Unit, which clearly shows that the corrupt are being protected.
The lack of concrete action on these cases also raises questions about the government's intentions. BJP leader Kainth asked why Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is hesitant to release a white paper on the irregularities in MNREGA over the past three years. He alleged that the decision to convene a special session of the assembly was taken to mislead the people of Punjab.
Furthermore, the recovery orders of Rs 2.35 crore issued after investigations by the Lokpal/Ombudsman have also not been implemented so far, which raises serious questions about the intentions and functioning of the AAP government.
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is misleading the people of Punjab on the MNREGA issue by falsely claiming that Rs 23,446 crore is due from the central government. He launched a scathing attack on Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, saying that the figures from the report of the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (2024-2025) by the central government are being misrepresented. Because the very next page of the report that Harpal Cheema is showing clearly states that there are no outstanding wages for MNREGA workers in any state for the year 2024-25.
Paramjit Singh Kainth, advocating for the interests of the people, said that one of the world's largest social programs, which guarantees employment and provides every rural household with the legal right to paid work, is poised to become the backbone of rural livelihoods, mitigating the impact of economic shocks by maintaining demand. It is one of the most studied anti-poverty programs globally, with strong equity features: more than half of the estimated 126 million scheme workers are women, and nearly 40% belong to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
BJP leader Paramjit Kainth condemned the police filing an FIR against a social media influencer, an RTI activist, and a social media channel for allegedly misusing a government helicopter used by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, stating that it is an attack on press freedom, which cannot be tolerated at any cost. The Bharatiya Janata Party opposes this action. District President Sarup Chand Singla, General Secretary Umesh Sharma, State General Secretary Dyal Singh Sodhi, Vice Presidents Varinder Sharma, Shyam Lal Basal, Baldev Akaliya, Gaurav Nidhania, Rajesh Jindal and Chirag Singla were present on this occasion.