‘Flight Of Political Fancy’: BJP Mocks Sonia Gandhi Over Remarks On G RAM G

Last Updated:December 22, 2025, 21:22 IST

BJP acknowledged that MGNREGA had played a role in addressing rural distress but argued that the scheme no longer reflected current rural realities.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi | File Image

The political sparring between the BJP and the Congress over the newly passed G RAM G law intensified on Monday, with the ruling party dismissing former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s criticism as a “flight of political fancy" and accusing her of misrepresenting facts.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or G RAM G, which seeks to replace the two-decade-old MGNREGA, was cleared by Parliament last week amid strong protests from the Congress-led opposition.

The opposition has alleged that the new law weakens the guarantee of employment, particularly by altering the funding structure and increasing the states’ financial contribution to 40 per cent.

Sonia Gandhi, in a video message released on Saturday, accused the government of rushing the legislation through Parliament and described it as a “black law".

She claimed the move would dismantle MGNREGA, enacted by the UPA government in 2005, and harm the interests of farmers and labourers across the country. She also said Congress workers would oppose the law nationwide.

BJP Hits Back

Responding on social media, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said Gandhi’s remarks showed a lack of understanding of the legislation.

“Her statements read less like a serious engagement with law or data and more like a flight of political fancy," he said, alleging that her arguments were based on “mischaracterisations and outright falsehoods".

Malviya rejected the charge that the new law removes the guarantee of employment, saying the shift was only in the budgeting mechanism, from an open-ended demand-driven model to a norm-based allocation framework.

He pointed out that the guaranteed number of workdays has been increased from 100 under MGNREGA to 125 under G RAM G.

He acknowledged that MGNREGA had played a role in addressing rural distress but argued that the scheme no longer reflected current rural realities.

Citing official data, Malviya said rural poverty had fallen sharply, incomes had risen, and reliance on formal credit had increased, reducing dependence on public works programmes as the primary livelihood option.

The BJP leader also dismissed claims that the Centre was shifting the financial burden to states, arguing that states had already been bearing significant costs under MGNREGA, including material expenses and unemployment allowances.

The revised funding structure, he said, formalises the arrangement and makes states equal partners in implementation.

On concerns raised by Gandhi over restrictions on workdays, Malviya said the provision was flexible and aimed at protecting agricultural activity during peak seasons, while still expanding the annual employment guarantee.

He further rejected allegations that the new framework weakens Panchayati Raj institutions, stating that the changes were intended to improve transparency and efficiency, not centralise control.

Malviya also highlighted what he described as long-standing flaws in MGNREGA, including misappropriation of funds, fake job cards and weak monitoring mechanisms.

He claimed the Modi government had improved accountability and delivery through measures such as Aadhaar-linked payments, digital attendance systems and geo-tagging of assets.

The exchange underscores the sharpening political divide over rural employment policy as both parties seek to frame the narrative ahead of key electoral contests.

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