Congress opposing VB–G RAM G as State government has no funds to contribute its share, says R. Ashok

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok alleged that the Congress is opposing the Centre’s rural employment guarantee scheme, Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G), because the Congress-led government in Karnataka lacks the funds to contribute its share for the implementation of the programme.

Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on January 11, Mr. Ashok said the Centre will contribute about ₹17,000 crore annually to the scheme, while the State will be required to contribute around ₹10,000 crore under the 60:40 funding ratio. “The Congress is upset with the scheme because the State government’s treasury is empty and it does not have the resources to meet its share,” he alleged.

As evidence of the State’s financial distress, Mr. Ashok pointed to the government’s failure to disburse the Gruha Lakshmi assistance of ₹2,000 per month for two months — February and March 2025. He accused the State government of “looting” ₹5,000 crore from beneficiaries by skipping the payments for those months. “After the BJP exposed the issue in the last session of the Legislature, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself admitted that the payments had not been made for two months,” he said.

Mr. Ashok also claimed that the Congress party’s opposition stemmed from the transparency built into the new scheme. He alleged that under the earlier rural employment programme, funds were siphoned off by owners of earth movers and excavators in collusion with Congress workers, depriving poor rural labourers of their rightful wages.

The Congress fears that its workers will become “unemployed” under the new scheme, which will be implemented through biometric authorisation, he said, adding, “Fake names cannot be included, all work will be monitored through satellite systems, and bogus job cards will be cancelled.”

He added that the new scheme will increase guaranteed employment for rural workers to 125 days from the earlier 100 days. A 60-day gap, he said, has been provided to ensure the availability of farm labour for agricultural operations.

Responding to the Congress party’s criticism over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme, Mr. Ashok said the new name includes “Bharat”, for which Gandhi himself had striven. He added that the BJP-led government at the Centre has moved away from naming schemes after personalities.

Ballari firing

On the firing incident in Ballari, Mr. Ashok said the party’s State core committee has decided to hold a convention there on January 17 to protest the collapse of law and order and the alleged attempt to kill an MLA by opening fire on his house. Similar protests will be held in Bengaluru and Mysuru over the Kogilu issue and the drug menace, respectively, he added.