CHANDIGARH, Jan. 6 -- Launching a blistering attack on Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday alleged that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has surpassed the Congress in corruption and pushed the border state deeper into a morass. Addressing a press conference here, Saini said that both Congress and the AAP are "two sides of the same coin" and repeatedly accused Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and the Opposition parties of spreading "misinformation deliberately" about the new rural employment law Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RAM G). Alleging that the Congress has mastered the art of spreading misinformation whenever it runs out of logic or constructive ideas, Saini said that every time welfare reforms are introduced for the poor, Congress and the INDI alliance begin questioning the initiatives instead of offering solutions. Taking a strong exception to the Punjab government's move, which held a special assembly session on December 30, 2025, and passed a resolution seeking a recall of the VB-G RAM G, Saini said that the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government was desperate and trying to mislead people. He said the AAP government in its resolution in the assembly raised vague accusations without pointing out any specific flaw in the VB-G RAM G. "It is not appropriate to criticise something without telling people the specific shortcomings...I want to show the mirror to (Bhagwant) Mann...he has been playing politics with the poor people of Punjab...we expect Punjab government not to mislead people and instead suggest reforms (in the G RAM G)," Saini said and referred to social audit findings in Punjab where over 10,600 cases of financial embezzlement were detected and no action was taken against those responsible. The chief minister said that the new law guarantees 125 days per annum rural employment and that the new scheme corrects structural flaws in MGNREGA and ensures greater income security for rural labourers. Saini alleged that in Punjab certain works were funded under MGNREGA without any provision, resulting in deserving workers being denied wages. He said the AAP government was opposing reforms aimed at plugging these loopholes. Saini said the issue concerns crores of rural workers, and hardworking farmers and their families and defended the decision to replace what he termed an "outdated and corruption-prone" framework. He alleged that the Punjab assembly resolution reflected political opportunism rather than concern for rural welfare, as it neither cited any data nor offered a single constructive suggestion. Citing the 2013 CAG report, the chief minister alleged that during the UPA regime, MGNREGA was riddled with fake beneficiaries and manipulation of rolls for financial misappropriation.. Highlighting key changes under the new law, Saini said the employment guarantee has been increased from 100 to 125 days, which would raise the annual income of an unskilled rural labourer by over Rs.7,000 on average across the country. In Haryana, he said, workers would gain at least Rs.10,000 annually, with minimum wages fixed at Rs.400 per day-higher than Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. He said in Haryana more than 52% Scheduled Caste workers and over 65% women labourers have received work under the scheme this year. "The Viksit Bharat-G-RAM-G Act is designed to support genuine labourers who were betrayed under previous governments," he said, adding that labourers would now contribute to building a "truly developed India," and not to enriching corrupt contractors or officials. Saini said during a Punjab visit, labourers informed Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan that they were being denied wages while contractors were appropriating the funds. According to Saini, a social audit conducted in 5,915 out of 13,304-gram panchayats in Punjab revealed 10,663 cases of financial irregularities, including illegal withdrawals in the name of road and canal cleaning. "Despite these findings and intervention by central teams, no recovery was made and no action was taken against those responsible," Saini alleged....