Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and other leaders at the Lok Bhavan Chalo protest against Central Government at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on January 27, 2026.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D.K. Shivakumar, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, along with party legislators and MPs, were on Tuesday (January 27, 2026) taken into preventive custody after they decided to march towards Lok Bhavan as part of “Raj Bhavan Chalo” protest.
The protest was against the Centre’s move to replace MGNREGA with VB-G RAM G.
The Congress leaders were stopped by police when they attempted to proceed towards Lok Bhavan, alleging that the Union government was dismantling the rural employment guarantee framework and curtailing the rights of Panchayats. The leaders boarded a bus deployed by the police outside the venue after delivering their speech and courted arrest.
Role of panchayats curtailed
Addressing the protesters before being detained, Siddaramaiah said this ‘Ram’ in VB-G RAM G is not Dasharath Ram or Seeta Ram. It stands for Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajivika Mission (Gramin). He said MGNREGA was a right to livelihood and employment, introduced by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, and accused the Centre of trying to destroy it.
“MGNREGA was the right of the people, but not any more. Around five crore people, including the differently-abled, were getting employment in the rural areas. The Centre now wants to decide what work should be done, whereas earlier it was done by Panchayats,” Siddaramaiah alleged, adding that the role of Panchayats had been severely curtailed.
The chief minister further claimed that each Panchayat was earlier getting around ₹1 crore. Now they will be deprived of it.
“We will fight until VB-G RAM G is revoked and MGNREGA is re-established. VB-G RAM G does not guarantee employment the way MGNREGA did,” he said.
Accusing the BJP of attacking rural India, Siddaramaiah said, “Gandhiji said unless villages develop, the nation cannot develop. By scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP has killed Mahatma Gandhi once again.” He called upon people for agitation in every village across the state.
‘Mahatma Gandhi Kendra’
Surjewala, who is also Karnataka in-charge, alleged that the Centre was bent on scrapping the rural employment guarantee scheme. “The Union government wants to dismantle MGNREGA. I urge the Karnataka government to rename Panchayat centres as ‘Mahatma Gandhi Kendra’.”
Shivakumar warned of political consequences for the BJP, saying, “By scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP has invited trouble for itself. People in rural areas will not accept VB-G RAM G, and they will not pardon the BJP for repealing the employment guarantee law.”
Published – January 27, 2026 02:37 pm IST
