Chandigarh, December 29
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is misusing the government machinery against the Central Government’s “Viksit Bharat – Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Act, 2025 (VB–G RAM G Act, 2025).” These serious allegations were made by Ashwani Sharma, Working President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Punjab. He stated that the AAP government is misleading MGNREGA workers and forcibly obtaining their signatures through deception in opposition to this law.
As evidence, Sharma made public the form that the Punjab government is getting filled by workers through village-level officials, in an attempt to falsely project that Punjab’s workers are opposed to the VB–G RAM G Act, 2025, whereas the truth is exactly the opposite. State Media Head Vineet Joshi and State Spokesperson were present on the occasion.
Sharma said that after spending months in jail in the liquor scam, securing bail with great difficulty, and suffering a crushing electoral defeat at the hands of the people of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal is now attempting to create an atmosphere of rebellion against the Central Government through the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. This, he said, is not only unfortunate but also poses a serious threat to the federal structure of the country.
Sharma clarified that under the new law, rural workers will now get 125 days of employment instead of 100 days, and there is also a provision for payment of unemployment allowance if work is not provided on time. He questioned why Mann is opposing a law that is clearly in the interest of workers. He further said that even under the existing MGNREGA law, the AAP government in Punjab has completely failed over the last three years to provide workers with 100 days of employment, yet the Chief Minister remains completely silent on this serious failure.
Sharma explained that as per the MGNREGA Act, the state government is legally bound to provide work within 15 days of a worker demanding employment. If work is not provided, the unemployment allowance must be paid. However, the Punjab government neither provides work on time nor pays unemployment allowance. Under Section 25 of MGNREGA, action should be taken against the officials responsible in such cases. He asked the Chief Minister to disclose what action has been taken in any of the 23 districts of the state so far.
Sharma added that in cases involving Scheduled Caste workers, action under the SC Act is mandatory, but the Chief Minister should clarify how many such cases have actually resulted in action against guilty officials. He alleged that the AAP government is not even conducting the mandatory social audits in order to conceal corruption and irregularities under MGNREGA. Social audits were not conducted in 6,095 Gram Panchayats during 2024–25 and in 7,389 Gram Panchayats during 2025–26.
Sharma further stated that out of the corruption cases detected by the Special Audit Unit, no Action Taken Report has been issued so far in 3,986 cases by the Punjab government, clearly indicating that corrupt elements are being protected. “Additionally, recovery orders amounting to ₹2.35 crore issued after inquiries by the Lokpal/Ombudsperson have also not been implemented to date, raising serious questions about the intent and functioning of the AAP government”, he added.
Taking a jibe at Punjab Congress leaders, Sharma said that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi themselves admit that there is corruption in MGNREGA/NREGA, and that is exactly what we are trying to fix—then why is the Congress creating an uproar?
Sharma also showed a video in which Sonia Gandhi acknowledges that even after seven years of the Act, corruption persists and that both the central and state governments have failed to curb it. Sonia further stated that neither is work provided within 15 days, nor are daily wages paid on time. She also said that works worth ₹2,252 crore were carried out without any approval.
