FM Harpal Cheema declares ‘Viksit Bharat – Gram G’ as an attack on the poor and federalism

Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema today launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Union Government, accusing it of systematically dismantling the MGNREGA scheme and stripping the poor of their right to a livelihood. Speaking in the Vidhan Sabha in support of a resolution against the recent changes and the renaming of the MGNREGA scheme to ‘Viksit Bharat – GRAM G’, Cheema labelled the move as an "assault on the stomachs of the marginalised."

During his address, the Finance Minister read a poignant letter from a woman worker, Charanjit Kaur, which highlighted the fears of thousands of rural labourers. Kaur’s letter expressed the anxiety that changing rules and centralised village lists would deprive children of education and the elderly of medicine. Cheema emphasised that by centralising the scheme and moving to complex mobile-based attendance, the Union Government is snatching away the "Guarantee" of work that was once the backbone of rural survival.

Accusing the BJP of working against the spirit of the Constitution authored by Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Finance Minister slammed the BJP-led Union Government for working against the spirit of the Constitution, authored by Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He emphasised that the Preamble to the Constitution, which embodies the fundamental principles and values of the nation, is being undermined by the Centre's policies. The Preamble reads, "We, the People of India, solemnly resolve to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic." The Finance Minister said that the Supreme Court of India has repeatedly pronounced in its judgments that the Preamble to the Constitution cannot be changed or disturbed, affirming its sacrosanct nature.

In a strongly worded critique, Finance Minister Cheema further added that the Union Government is attempting to turn the country's labourers into "bonded labourers" and "slaves" of a centralised system by centralising every scheme. This approach, he argued, is destroying cooperative federalism, stripping states of their rights, and weakening local economies, which he described as a direct attack on the soul of democracy.

Raising strong objections to the renaming of the scheme after religious icons, Cheema said that while the world respects Lord Rama, using a religious name for a government scheme is a political tactic to shield the government from criticism. He warned that this creates a dangerous precedent where protesters seeking wages or rights can be labelled as being disrespectful to religious sentiments.

Contrasting the Center's policies with the Punjab Government's initiatives, Cheema highlighted that the Aam Aadmi Party is working day and night for the elevation of the Dalit community through concrete actions. He pointed out that for the first time in Punjab’s history, the Dalit community has received unprecedented representation with 6 out of 15 ministers in the Mann cabinet. In another historic first, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appointed the state's first Dalit Finance Minister, a position that previous Congress and Akali regimes never entrusted to a Dalit leader.

The Minister further detailed the tangible benefits delivered to the community, noting that the AAP government has already provided government jobs to over 15,000 Dalit youth. Financial empowerment has been a cornerstone of this agenda, as the state has successfully waived the loans of almost 5000 underprivileged Dalit families, a move never seen under prior administrations. Most significantly, the 2025-26 budget reflects this commitment by allocating approximately Rs 14,000 crore under the SC/ST Sub-Plan (SCSP). This represents the highest allocation in Punjab's history, ensuring that 34% of the total development budget is dedicated specifically to the upliftment of marginalised and deprived sections.

Cheema also celebrated the success of the Education Revolution, where over 267 students from government schools, many of the children of labourers, have cleared JEE and 235 got admission, 847 cleared NEET and 560 got admissions, many more students from state government schools cleared such competition examinations for the first time in such a big number. He challenged the opposition to quote such examples from their regimes. He further added that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government has also extended this empowerment for the first time to the legal field as well, where the implementation of 25% reservation for Dalit lawyers in the Advocate General’s office has led to the appointment of 58 children of poor people, sanitation workers to high-ranking legal positions. He said that Punjab is the only state in India to provide such a reservation to Dalit lawyers.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema concluded by warning the Union Government of a massive nationwide movement, announcing that the Punjab Government and the Aam Aadmi Party would stand firmly in support of the labourers. He urged the Speaker to forward the hundreds of letters received from MGNREGA workers, many bearing thumb impressions, to the Prime Minister's Office to demonstrate the human cost of these policy changes. "We will not allow the BJP to snatch the bread from the mouths of our workers to serve corporate interests," Cheema declared.