Vijayawada: CPM politburo member B V Raghavulu on Saturday said the newly introduced Viksit Bharat G RAM G Bill would not benefit the poor in any manner and demanded that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) be continued. He announced that the party would launch a nationwide agitation against the new scheme.

Addressing a press conference here along with CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao, Raghavulu criticised the Centre for scrapping the existing employment guarantee framework and replacing it with G Ram G, which, he said, curtails the rights of workers and States.

He alleged that earlier workers were assured at least 100 days of work, while now employment has been reduced and made dependent on the Centre’s discretion. Reports and studies, he said, have disproved claims that MGNREGA hampers agricultural activity. He also pointed out that though the Centre claims wages have increased, in reality, labour wages have declined.

He criticised the change in fund sharing from 90:10 to 60:40, warning that this would burden States and increase the risk of hunger deaths and distress migration. Raghavulu alleged that fund allocation has become politically motivated and that penalties for delayed employment, earlier borne by the Centre, are now shifted to States.

He also criticised both the ruling TDP and opposition YSRCP for not opposing the Bill strongly, accusing them of fearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On industrial development, Raghavulu called for changes in industrial policy to prioritise Rayalaseema, suggesting the establishment of a greenfield industrial electronics city.