The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) strongly criticised the BJP-led NDA government’s decision to replace MGNREGA with the new VB-G RAMG Act, 2025, terming it an insult to the nation.
Addressing the media on Monday at Congress Bhawan in Imphal, former Chief Minister and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Okram Ibobi questioned the rationale behind the rechristening of MGNREGS into VB-G RAMG (the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill), which is closely related to the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi.
Meanwhile, MPCC President and MLA K. Meghachandra stated that the removal of the name “Mahatma Gandhi” from the scheme is a direct insult to the legacy of the Father of the Nation, whose philosophy of Sarvodaya and social justice inspired the law. He said the new Act weakens the rights-based, demand-driven guarantee of employment, thereby depriving rural workers of their legally enforceable right to work.
The MPCC President also said that the new framework undermines the spirit of federalism by centralising control and reducing the autonomy of states and local bodies.
