U-turn in Punjab: AAP government to roll out VB-G RAM G scheme despite previous opposition

The Punjab government has notified the implementation of the Centre's Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme from July 1, marking a complete reversal of its stand from six months ago. In December 2025, the Punjab Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the legislation.

A notification issued by the Punjab Rural Development and Panchayats Department on Friday states that the provisions of the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 will come into force in the state from July 1. The implementation follows the Centre's rollout of the new rural employment law, which replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The move is a sharp U-turn by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. On December 30, 2025, the Punjab government had convened a special Assembly session and passed a unanimous resolution rejecting the VB-G RAM G Act. The House urged the Centre to withdraw the law and restore MGNREGA in its original rights-based form.

The resolution stated that the new law takes away the legal guarantee of employment and timely wages available to poor labourers, women and lakhs of job card holders. It said the legislation converts MGNREGA from a demand-driven, rights-based programme into a norm-based scheme, imposes an additional financial burden on states by changing the funding pattern, and weakens the federal structure by reducing the Centre's responsibility.

Replying to the debate in the Assembly, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had described the legislation as anti-poor, anti-Dalit, anti-farmer, anti-labourer and anti-women. He argued that it would deprive rural workers of their guaranteed right to employment and wages and maintained that Punjab would not implement the law.

The notification has triggered sharp political reactions, with the Congress accusing the government of contradicting its own position. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring questioned why the government had implemented the scheme after rejecting it in the Assembly. “What is the deal with the BJP?” he asked.

Warring pointed out that the Punjab government had negated its own resolution by notifying its implementation. He said the timing of the notification was equally surprising and asked whether it had anything to do with the ongoing controversy surrounding Mann. Warring alleged that with the chief minister under pressure within and outside his party, he appeared to be trying to “buy peace” with the BJP.

Warring also asked AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal to clarify whether he approved of the implementation of the scheme in Punjab. He said Kejriwal should break his silence, failing which it would strengthen the impression that the AAP had entered into an opportunistic understanding with the BJP.