‘Who will provide funds? no state can give grants’: DK Shivakumar questions govt on feasibility of VB-G RAM G Act

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday questioned the feasibility of implementing the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, asserting that “no state could provide the grant.”

Speaking to reporters, the Deputy Chief Minister stated that the state lacks the necessary funds to support the new bill. “They cannot implement the new Bill. Who will provide the funds for it? No state can provide the grant. Some have said they will come for a discussion. We are ready to answer all things during the discussion in the state Assembly”, Shivakumar said.

Reacting to Union Minister and JD(S) MP HD Kumaraswamy’s remarks regarding political intentions, the Deputy CM added, “We are all serving the people of the country. We are doing politics for the people of the country. We are not doing politics for the family. Whatever law exists in the country, it is the same for everyone.”

On Sunday, Minister Priyank Kharge alleged that the VB-G-RAM G Bill has violated the Constitution. “More importantly, they know that if they are going to get into a debate about the MGNREGA, they have nothing to say on the subject. The VB-G-RAM G bill has violated the powers of the panchayat, violated the Constitution. There is no minimum wage for labour. They’ve diluted the entire right-to-work. So they don’t want to discuss that; hence, they want to disrupt the assembly,” the Congress leader said.

The Congress leader alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not plan to ensure the “smooth functioning” of the Karnataka assembly, days after Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot walked out of the assembly without reading the complete address drafted by the state government.

“It is clear that the BJP does not intend to ensure the smooth functioning of the Karnataka assembly. They ensured that the governor violated the norms, the traditions, and more importantly, the articles of the Constitution by not reading the governor’s speech. He was in such a tearing hurry to prove a point that the governor didn’t even wait for the national anthem to be played. When it was proposed that it should be discussed. The BJP does not intend to discuss it,” Kharge told ANI.

The VB-G RAM G Act was passed in the Winter Session of the Parliament in 2025 and replaces the 100-day employment guarantee with a 125-day guarantee. However, the Opposition has criticised the legislation for removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name and for removing the 60:40 share of funds between the Centre and states. (ANI)