‘Bring back MGNREGA, scrap VB G RAM G Act’: Minister Dinesh Gundu as Congress holds ‘Lok bhavan chalo’ protest

BENGALURU: Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday slammed the central government for implementing the VB-G RAM G Act, demanding that the MGNREGA scheme be brought back and the new Bill be “scrapped.”

#WATCH | Bengaluru: On the Congress’ ‘Lok bhavan chalo’ protest, Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao says, ” …This is a very important issue and the way central government is behaving is very very concerning. A very important law which gave right to work to people under the… pic.twitter.com/X5NexWkiBz

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2026

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress staged a ‘Lok Bhavan Chalo’ protest here against the recently passed Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, expressing strong opposition to changes in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) that “removed the powers of the Gram Panchayat.”

Addressing the protest, Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “This is a very important issue and the way the central government is behaving is extremely concerning. A very important law which gave the right to work to people under the MGNREGA has been diluted. They want to finish this scheme. They have removed the powers of the Gram Panchayat. Our main issue is to bring back the MGNREGA scheme and scrap this VB G RAM G.”

#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka: Congress holds ‘Lok bhavan chalo’ protest against the VB-G-RAM-G Bill. Police personnel are also present. pic.twitter.com/SnVrtvigTY

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2026

Further, Law Minister HK Patil, who was also present in the protest, said, “How many corruption cases from MGNREGA have they dug out? The bill is of the people’s interest.”

A day earlier, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar questioned the feasibility of implementing the Act, asserting that “no state could provide the grant.” Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar 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.

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)