In a significant move that highlights the growing friction between state and central authority, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly witnessed a stormy session on Tuesday as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah moved a resolution demanding the immediate repeal of the recently enacted VB-G RAM G Act. The Congress-led government is urging the Centre to reinstate the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in its original form, arguing that the new legislation undermines federalism and places an unsustainable financial burden on the state.
While reading out the resolution, Siddaramaiah described MGNREGA as a "Sanjeevini" for the rural poor— a lifeline that encouraged self-empowerment and wealth accumulation. He argued that the new "Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)" Act, or VB-GRAM G as the resolution called it, was imposed on the state by the Central Government unilaterally, thereby rendering the Gram Panchayats powerless and contravening the very essence of the Panchayati Raj Institution.
The situation escalated into a shouting match as members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by the Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, were strongly objecting to the use of the words in the resolution. Ashoka was particularly miffed with the use of the phrase "this House strongly opposes," since the government should not claim to represent the whole House when the opposition itself did not support the motion. "Don't make us party to this," Ashoka said, as BJP members began shouting slogans in protest.
A secondary point of contention emerged over the government’s choice of abbreviations. The resolution repeatedly referred to the act as "VB-GRAM G," whereas the official title is the "VB-G RAM G" Act. Opposition members seized on this linguistic choice, accusing the ruling party of an "allergy" to the name 'Ram' and suggesting that the modification was a deliberate attempt to distance the policy from its namesake.
However, in the midst of all this chaos, the Chief Minister remained resolute in saying that the opposition would have ample time to express their grievances during the discussion. This resolution follows the Karnataka state cabinet’s decision to reject the new Act in its entirety and be prepared to take up the legal battle, which shows that the dispute over rural employment and state rights is headed to court.
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