Posted on 17 December 10:41 PM IST
New Delhi: AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Central government in the Lok Sabha while speaking against the The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB—G RAM G) Bill, 2025. He warned that the changes would hit the poorest sections hardest and weaken a law that was designed as a demand-driven legal guarantee for rural employment.
Participating in the debate, Owaisi said the poor, unemployed and hungry people of the country want to send a clear message to those in power. Quoting a couplet, he said hunger has reached a point where “destiny is restless and strategy is collapsing,” and accused the government of dismantling a law that once gave real relief to the rural poor.
Owaisi objected to the government’s move to convert MNREGA from a demand-driven right into what he described as a centrally controlled scheme. He said under the proposed framework, work would not begin in a panchayat unless it is formally notified, which would delay employment and deny work to needy families. He accused the Centre of pursuing a policy of excessive centralisation and trying to run the country in a dictatorial manner by taking away powers from states and local bodies.
The Hyderabad MP questioned how the Centre could impose “normative allocations” on states for a programme that was originally based on guaranteed demand guarantee. He warned that if states spend more than the allocated amount, they would be forced to bear the financial burden themselves, effectively discouraging them from providing more work.
Poor Will Again at the Mercy of Landlords
Raising serious concerns, Owaisi said the amendments would introduce nearly 60 days of “blackout” every year, during which no work would be available under MNREGA. He said this would severely affect women workers and landless labourers, pushing them back into dependence on landlords. “If this law is passed, landlords will celebrate, and the poor will again be at their mercy,” he said.
Owaisi also criticised the reduction in the Centre’s financial responsibility. He pointed out that earlier, about 90 percent of material and administrative costs were borne by the Central government, but this has now been reduced to 60 percent, shifting 40 percent of the burden onto states. “The intention is clear, to slowly kill this law and finish it off,” he alleged.
No State has surplus funds
Questioning the financial capacity of states, Owaisi asked which state actually has surplus funds, especially when budgets are prepared in March every year. He said the changes show that the government is not serious about eradicating poverty and is instead working against the interests of the poor.
On Aadhaar-based attendance and digital systems, Owaisi said biometric authentication often fails for manual labourers because their fingerprints fade due to hard work. He cited a July 2025 report by NDS, stating that biometric systems have caused genuine workers to lose wages and access to work.
Concluding his speech, Owaisi strongly opposed the amendments and warned of increased migration. Referring to regions like Seemanchal in Bihar, he said migration would only rise if the law is weakened. “India’s poor are watching. They are hungry, and they will respond,” he said, ending his speech with another poetic warning that fields which do not provide sustenance should be set ablaze.
Mohammed Naseer Giyas is a multi-media and bilingual journalist with over 20 years of experience across print, digital, and television media. Founder of Raftaar-e-Deccan, he is an alumnus of IVLP, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and ICFJ, and has worked with leading English and Urdu news organisations.
