Chandigarh: In a direct attack on the BJP-led central government, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday said the central government was deliberately misleading the public in the name of reforms in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). He said that the dues of more than Rs 23,000 crore expose the reality of BJP’s claims of reforms.
Clear opposition from Punjab government
The Punjab Finance Minister said that by shifting 40% of the financial burden to the states and hollowing out the rights-based structure of the scheme, the BJP has essentially dismantled the employment guarantee and weakened India’s federal structure. He said that the Punjab Assembly stands firmly with the workers against these steps, while the Congress ruled states have chosen to remain silent.
Addressing a press conference at the party office on Wednesday, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema hit out at the BJP leadership for giving false information to the ‘Standing Committee 2024-25’ on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj to justify its actions. He clarified that the committee headed by Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka had never recommended keeping or making changes on the basis of religion; Instead, the committee had appealed for immediate release of the pending funds.
The Finance Minister condemned the deliberate conspiracy perpetrated by the BJP by using misleading claims, aimed at depriving the poor, Dalits and small farmers of their basic right to livelihood.
Disclosure of MNREGA dues
Minister Harpal Singh Cheema revealed that while the BJP is creating a narrative of ‘reform’, the central government is sitting on huge dues of more than Rs 23,000 crore. This includes unpaid wages of workers worth Rs 12,219 crore and material expenditure of Rs 11,227 crore by panchayats for rural development projects.
The Finance Minister said that despite BJP’s claims of reforming the scheme, about 27 per cent of the budget earmarked for 2025-26 has not been released, pushing millions of families towards hunger and despair.
Harpal Singh Cheema said that by replacing MNREGA with a new framework that puts 40 per cent of the financial burden on state governments and requires prior approval from the Center for project proposals, the BJP-led central government has effectively scrapped the employment guarantee. He argued that these steps were a direct attack on the federal structure of India.
Criticism of new restrictions
Additionally, he criticized the imposition of restrictive conditions such as mobile-location-based attendance, saying these were designed to exclude workers who did not have high-tech tools.
Question on Congress’s silence
Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also questioned the silence of the Congress party, saying that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has become the first government in India to pass a formal resolution in the Assembly against these repressive policies, while the Congress ruled states are silent.
He further said that the Punjab Assembly resolution is a testament to Aam Aadmi Party’s commitment towards workers and the Dalit community, while the question raised by a Congress leader in the Assembly about earmarking Rs 800 crore for the new scheme has exposed his party’s internal support for the BJP’s agenda.
Demand for restoration of MNREGA
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema demanded immediate restoration of MNREGA in its original rights-based form and release of all dues to ensure dignity and life of the country’s poor.
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