AAP to fight for rights of labourers under VB-G RAM G: Dhaliwal

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Central government over the changes made to MGNREGA in its ‘new avatar’. AAP MLA and Punjab’s chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the party would wage a major agitation for the rights of labourers and would not allow their employment to be taken away.

He demanded that the government should withdraw the VB-G RAM G Act and restore MGNREGA. He stated that through this Act, the Centre had reduced its 100 per cent funding to 60 per cent, enhancing financial burden on the states.

In a release issued here on Sunday, Dhaliwal said the states would have to contribute 40 per cent. He questioned that when the states’ GST already goes to the Centre, from where would the states arrange this 40 per cent share.

Expressing serious concern, MLA Dhaliwal said that under the new Act, work would not be provided during the sowing and harvesting agricultural seasons. Earlier, there was a guarantee of 100 days of work and labourers could work whenever they wished, but now this guarantee is also being taken away.

He recalled that during the recent floods in Punjab, several areas, including Ajnala suffered heavy losses. The Centre announced Rs 1,600 crore relief, but did not release a single new rupee. He added that funds for rural development are also being withheld.

He warned that if these changes were not rolled back, then AAP would launch a major struggle against them.

MLA Dhaliwal assured the labourers and poor people of Punjab that AAP would fight for their interests, both at the national level and in Punjab, and under no circumstances would it allow the employment of the poor to be taken away.