The Congress, through the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan (RGPRS), staged a satyagraha at Bhubaneswar’s Lower PMG Square against the substitution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with the newly introduced VB–G RAM–G scheme. Led by Sunil Panwar and Sudarshan Das, the protesters submitted a memorandum to Odisha’s Governor, Hari Babu Kambhampati, expressing their concerns. Panwar emphasized that MGNREGS, a rights-based law, was replaced by VB–G RAM–G, a scheme-based program, which lacks the same legal protections for workers.
The protest highlighted the removal of key provisions such as the right to demand work within 15 days for registered job cardholders under MGNREGS, now absent in VB–G RAM–G. Panwar criticized the altered funding structure, shifting from the central government covering 100% of wage costs to a 60:40 ratio, potentially hindering employment opportunities in financially weak states. Sudarshan Das condemned the dilution of the right to work guaranteed by the original MGNREGS Act, accusing the BJP government of undermining constitutional principles.
