Stories
Congress Alleges Systemic Theft of Rural Wages Through Clone Apps Across States
- •Congress described the Viksit Bharat G Ram G scheme as a surgical strike on rural India's social security framework.
- •Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that Beed and other Maharashtra districts face severe drought while MGNREGA served as a vital lifeline.
- •Ground-level investigations revealed that villagers recorded as working had actually not worked for months.
- •Local leaders are allegedly pocketing wage amounts registered in the names of laborers through fake attendance.
- •Irregularities involving clone apps and fake attendance have also surfaced in Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states.
Key Questions Answered
On October 20, 2026, the Congress party criticized the 'Viksit Bharat G Ram G' (VB-GRAMGI) scheme, describing it as a surgical strike on rural India's social security framework. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Centre's government had mastered the theft of rural laborers' wages.
Jairam Ramesh alleged that ground-level investigations showed many villagers had not worked for months while government records still listed them as working. He claimed local leaders were pocketing those wage amounts and that irregularities involving fake attendance and clone apps had surfaced in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticized the VB G RAM G Act as Rozgar Adhikar chori, stating it replaces the constitutional right to work with a centralized scheme. He claimed the law undermines gram panchayats, places a heavy financial burden on states, and uses technology to exclude workers rather than facilitate employment.
