AAP Govt Fails to Provide 100

Kapurthala /Jan 7/ Daljeet Ajnoha : Under the Viksit Bharat Employment and Livelihood Mission, rural workers will now receive 125 days of employment instead of the earlier 100 days. Provisions for unemployment allowance remain in place if work is not provided on time.This was stated by Punjab BJP vice-president and former chairman of the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission, Ranjit Singh Khojewal—also patron of Pathway Global Alliance and national president of the British Ravidasia Heritage Foundation (UK)—during a press conference here on Wednesday. He questioned why Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann opposes this worker-friendly law.Khojewal and Bagha accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of complete failure over the past three years in providing 100 days of employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).Under MGNREGA, authorities must provide work within 15 days of a worker’s application, failing which unemployment allowance is mandatory. However, they alleged, the Punjab government neither provides timely work nor the allowance. Over the last four years, the state has utterly failed to deliver 100 days of jobs, yet the Chief Minister remains silent on this grave lapse.The BJP leaders claimed the AAP government is misleading and deceiving MGNREGA workers to collect signatures against the law. They further alleged that after a crushing defeat in Delhi over the liquor scam and release on bail, Arvind Kejriwal is now using Chief Minister Mann to foment rebellion against the Centre—a move that is not only regrettable but a serious threat to the country’s federal structure.They demanded to know why Mann opposes a law in workers’ interests and invoked Section 25 of MGNREGA, which mandates action against errant officials. What action has been taken in Punjab’s 23 districts so far, they asked.In cases involving Scheduled Caste workers, action under the SC/ST Act is compulsory, but the Chief Minister must reveal how many guilty officials have faced it, the leaders said.The AAP government is shielding corruption and fraud in MGNREGA by skipping mandatory social audits, they charged: 6,095 gram panchayats in 2024-25 and 7,389 in 2025-26 remain unaudited. Of corruption cases detected by the special audit unit, no action report has been issued in 3,986 instances, indicating protection for the corrupt. Moreover, recovery orders worth Rs 2.35 crore issued by Lokpal after probes remain unimplemented, raising serious questions about the government’s intent and functioning.Targeting Punjab Congress leaders, the BJP duo noted that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi admit to corruption in MGNREGA/NREGA and claim reforms are underway—then why the Congress uproar?