Congress Launches Grassroots Protests Against VB G Ram G Act

New Delhi, India: The Congress party has rolled out a new strategy to protest the VB G Ram G Act (Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Employment & Livelihood Mission – Rural), which replaces the long-standing MGNREGA scheme. Party workers will begin grassroots-level campaigns starting Friday, holding village meetings to raise awareness and mobilize opposition against the new law.

Congress has expressed strong objections to the government’s move to replace MGNREGA, which has been a lifeline for the rural poor for over two decades. Party leader Rahul Gandhi has claimed that the Congress will push the government to repeal the law.

Party Strategy: Village Meetings

According to reports, Congress workers have been instructed to attend government-organized Gram Sabha meetings and highlight what they call “misleading claims” about the new law. These meetings, scheduled from Friday onwards, are intended to educate villagers — especially marginalized communities such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and women — about how the VB G Ram G Act differs from MGNREGA.

Party General Secretary K.C. Venugopal has directed state units to ensure large participation in the meetings and to explain that the new law shifts employment rights from a budget-controlled, demand-based plan (MGNREGA) to a more centralized framework. Congress claims this reduces the autonomy and benefits previously guaranteed under MGNREGA.

Opposition Concerns

Congress argues that the government is using these meetings to mislead rural workers into believing the new law benefits them, while in reality, it undermines labor rights and financial protections. The opposition has also criticized the renaming of the law, arguing that it removes references to Mahatma Gandhi and imposes some financial burdens on state governments.

The Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, led by Secretaries Sailesh Kumar Singh and Vivek Bhardwaj, has directed states to conduct these awareness meetings to explain the law’s provisions to rural communities.

With Congress deploying workers at the grassroots level, the VB G Ram G Act is already facing strong resistance from the opposition even before it is fully implemented.