The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, alleging large-scale corruption in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme that has deprived the poor of their rightful livelihood.
Failure to Provide Guaranteed Employment
BJP state working president and Pathankot MLA, Ashwani Sharma, stated that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has failed over the last nearly four years to provide the statutory 100 days of employment under MGNREGA to lakhs of people from weaker sections, workers, and Dalit families. He accused the CM of not only taking away the employment guarantee but also snatching bread from the plates of the poor, thereby hurting their dignity and self-respect.
Sharma, accompanied by state vice-president Subhash Sharma and state media head Vineet Joshi at a press conference in Chandigarh, explained that he had to present these facts publicly on December 29 because the Assembly session was repeatedly disrupted by ruling party members, preventing a proper discussion.
Unanswered Questions on Funds and Audits
Ashwani Sharma posed a direct question to the Chief Minister: When the Modi government at the Centre sends funds for 100 days of employment for every worker in Punjab, why does the state government not provide the full 100 days? He further raised serious questions about the lack of mandatory social audits, a crucial transparency mechanism under MGNREGA.
He revealed that these audits were not conducted in 6,095 gram panchayats in the 2024–25 period and in 7,389 gram panchayats in 2025–26. This massive gap in oversight, according to the BJP leader, has allowed corruption to flourish unchecked.
Inaction on Massive Corruption Cases
The BJP leader highlighted an even more alarming issue: the apparent protection of the guilty. He stated that no action has been taken so far in 10,653 corruption cases that were detected by the Special Audit Unit. Sharma asserted that MGNREGA workers and their organisations have directly accused AAP MLAs, MPs, and local leaders of being involved in this corruption.
"Had the Chief Minister had answers to these questions, he would have given them. His silence is because a response would expose to the entire Punjab that the AAP government has taken away the employment guarantee of the poor under MGNREGA," Ashwani Sharma concluded, alleging a deliberate cover-up by the state administration.
