Kerala Assembly passes resolution seeking withdrawal of VB-G RAM G

The Kerala Assembly on Thursday (February 5) passed a resolution demanding that the Centre withdraw the newly introduced rural employment scheme, VB-G RAM G, and restore the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The resolution was moved by parliamentary affairs minister M B Rajesh and adopted by the House amid protests by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) over the alleged loss of gold at the Sabarimala temple.

State flags higher financial burden under new scheme

Presenting the resolution, Rajesh said the new Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, places a significantly higher financial burden on states. Unlike MGNREGA, where the Centre bore the entire cost, states will now be required to fund 40 per cent of the expenditure under the new scheme.

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The minister argued that the change dilutes the guarantee-based framework of rural employment and could weaken livelihood security for rural households, particularly in fiscally constrained states.

Assembly accuses Centre of neglect in Union Budget 2026-27

The state also passed a resolution on Wednesday (February 4, 2026), accusing the Centre of “continuing neglect of Kerala,” a trend it said was increasingly evident in the Union Budget 2026-27.

The House sought the Centre’s urgent attention to several long-pending demands, including the establishment of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the state and approval for a high-speed rail corridor, both of which it said were ignored in the latest Union Budget.

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The resolution was adopted in the absence of the Congress-led Opposition UDF, which had boycotted the Assembly proceedings amid heated disputes over the Sabarimala gold theft issue.

(With agency inputs)