‘Joint session of legislature on Jan 22; special discussion on VB-G RAM G Bill’: Minister HK Patil

BENGALURU: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on Wednesday said the state government has decided to convene a joint session of the Legislature on January 22, during which the Governor will be invited to address the House.

“We have decided to convene a joint session on January 22nd. The Governor will be invited to address the joint session,” H K Patil said. He said the legislature will remain in session till the end of the month. “Secondly, the House will be in session from the January 22 to the 31, and we will have a special discussion on the VB Gram G Bill”, he said.

Patil added that the state will also raise concerns with the Centre over employment guarantee. “We will also discuss the suggestions and pressure we will be putting on the central government to revive the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Act”, he said.

#WATCH | Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister HK Patil says, “We have decided to convene a joint session on January 22nd. The Governor will be invited to address the joint session. Secondly, the House will be in session from the 22nd to the 31st, and we will have a special discussion on… pic.twitter.com/FwR4vFIBQL

— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2026

Earlier, the minister condemned the Centre’s decision to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), describing it as “draconian”. “It is unfortunate that the government of India has repealed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This is one of the draconian decisions the Government of India has made, which is to repeal MGNREGA,” Patil said.

He said the Act had ensured the right to work for rural citizens. “MGNREGA was giving the right to work to the people, but the central government has snatched that right from people, particularly those agricultural labourers, labourers who were dwelling in rural areas,” he said.

The Congress, last Saturday, announced a nationwide three-phase agitation titled “MGNREGA Bachao” following the Centre’s newly enacted Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh accused the Centre of attempting to centralise the employment guarantee scheme and acting arbitrarily.

Venugopal said the Congress Working Committee had approved a structured campaign titled “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram”. “Phase 1 will begin on January 8 with a full-day preparatory meeting at Pradesh Congress Committee offices,” he said.

“District-level press conferences will be held on January 10, followed by a one-day fast at district headquarters on January 11 near the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar,” Venugopal added.

As per the party, Phase 2 of the campaign will run from January 12 to January 30. “Panchayat-level chaupals will be organised across all gram panchayats, and a letter from the Congress president will be delivered,” Venugopal said.

He added that Vidhan Sabha-level nukkad sabhas and pamphlet distribution are also planned. “On January 30, Martyrs’ Day, the party will hold peaceful sit-ins at the ward level with MGNREGA workers,” he said.

“Phase 3 will begin on January 31 with district-level MGNREGA Bachao dharnas at DC and DM offices till February 6,” Venugopal said. “This will be followed by state-level gheraos of Vidhan Sabha buildings from February 7 to February 15 and four zonal AICC rallies across the country between February 16 and February 25,” he added. (ANI)