CHANDIGARH- Taking direct aim at the BJP-led Union government, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday said the Centre is deliberately misleading the public under the guise of an Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) overhaul to push an anti-poor agenda, asserting that unpaid dues exceeding ₹23, 000 crore expose the reality behind the BJP’s claims of reform.
The Punjab Finance Minister said that by shifting 40 percent of the financial burden onto states and hollowing out the rights-based structure of the scheme, the BJP has effectively liquidated the employment guarantee and weakened India’s federal framework, while the Punjab Assembly stood firmly with workers against these moves and Congress-led states chose silence.
Addressing a press conference at the party office on Wednesday, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema slammed the BJP leadership for falsely citing the ‘Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj 2024-25’ to justify their actions. He clarified that the Committee, chaired by Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, never recommended renaming the scheme based on religion or introducing restrictive changes; instead, it had called for the immediate release of pending funds.
The Finance Minister castigated the BJP for using these misleading claims to mask a ‘deliberate conspiracy’ aimed at stripping the poor, Dalits, and small farmers of their fundamental right to a livelihood.
Minister Harpal Singh Cheema revealed, “While the BJP orchestrates a narrative of ‘reform’, the Central government is sitting on massive unpaid dues totalling over ₹23, 000 crore in pending liabilities. This includes ₹12, 219 crore in unpaid wages for labourers and ₹11, 227 crore in material costs owed to Panchayats for rural development projects.”
The Finance Minister highlighted that despite the BJP's claims of improving the scheme, nearly 27 percent of the budget allocated for 2025-26 has not been disbursed, pushing millions of families toward starvation and despair.
“By replacing MGNREGA with the new framework, which shifts 40 percent of the financial burden to state governments and requires prior central approval for project proposals, the BJP led Union Government has effectively liquidated the employment guarantee", said Minister Harpal Singh Cheema while arguing that these moves represent a direct assault on India’s federal structure.
Furthermore, he criticised the introduction of restrictive conditions, such as mobile-location-based attendance, which he stated are designed to exclude the most vulnerable workers who lack access to high-end technology.
Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also questioned the silence of the Congress party, noting, “While the Punjab Government, under CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, has become the first in India to pass a formal resolution in the Vidhan Sabha against these repressive policies, Congress-led states remain mute.”
He further said, “The Punjab Assembly's resolution is a testament to the AAP's commitment to labourers and the Dalit community, whereas a Congress leader's query in the assembly about allocating ₹800 crore for the new scheme exposed their party's underlying support for the BJP's agenda.”
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema concluded by demanding the immediate restoration of MGNREGA to its original rights-based form and the clearance of all pending payments to ensure the survival and dignity of the country's poor.