Overview
- Congress launched district-level fasts and protests under its 45-day 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram', with police tightening security near the prime minister’s Varanasi office during a demonstration.
- Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah moved to convene a two-day special legislative session to pass a resolution against the new law and pursue a legal challenge, a step welcomed by BJP and JD(S) leaders who accused the state Congress of misinformation.
- The VB-G RAM G Act, now in force after parliamentary passage and presidential assent, replaces MGNREGA by expanding guaranteed work to 125 days, setting a reported daily wage of Rs 370, mandating faster payments, and adding tech-based monitoring and special job cards.
- Section 22 sets cost sharing at 60:40 between the Centre and states, with a 90:10 ratio for specified Northeastern and Himalayan states and certain Union Territories, drawing opposition warnings that fiscally stretched states may struggle to meet their share.
- BJP figures including H. D. Kumaraswamy and Chirag Paswan defended the law as strengthening accountability and gram panchayat-led planning, while Congress leaders condemned the renaming as an attempt to erase Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and weaken a rights-based guarantee.