LS Takes Up VB-G RAM G Bill Amid Protest

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday took up for discussion and passage the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, a new rural employment law that seeks to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the debate would continue on Wednesday, with Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan scheduled to reply on Thursday before the Bill is put to vote.

Opposition parties launched a sharp attack on the government, accusing it of undermining Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Ram Rajya by repealing MGNREGA and renaming the scheme.

Introducing the Bill, Chouhan said the proposed law aims to ensure holistic village development, make rural areas poverty-free, and accelerate growth. He said the guaranteed employment period has been increased from 100 days to 125 days.

Initiating the debate, Congress MP Jai Prakash said removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the law was “the biggest crime.” He argued that the Bill would weaken gram sabhas by curtailing their authority to decide on works and would reduce the financial autonomy of states. The Hisar MP termed the proposed law “anti-poor” and “anti-Dalit,” alleging it was drafted by a “pro-rich” government.

Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra accused the government of “dishonouring” both Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore by renaming MGNREGA. Participating in the debate, she said the move reflected a belief in “na kisi ka saath, na kisi ka vikas, na Rahim ka na Ram ka.”

Opposing the repeal of MGNREGA, Moitra recalled that the original employment guarantee law was passed with unanimous support, with members across parties raising slogans of “rozgar guarantee zindabad.” She noted that in October 2009, in keeping with Gandhi’s vision of rural self-reliance, the scheme was renamed MGNREGA.

She said the government had introduced the new Bill without consulting stakeholders, stressing that it was not a mere amendment but a complete replacement of the existing law.

Referring to Rabindranath Tagore’s role in popularising the title Mahatma for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Moitra said a 2016 High Court judgment had affirmed Tagore’s contribution. “By changing the name, you are dishonouring both Mahatma Gandhi and Gurudev,” she said, alleging that the government was attempting to use the acronym “RAM” for political symbolism.

Quoting Gandhi, Moitra said Ram Rajya stood for equal rights and moral governance. “By repealing the Act and changing its name, you have destroyed Gandhi’s idea of Ram Rajya both in letter and spirit,” she said.

She also pointed out that West Bengal had been among the top performers under MGNREGA before fund releases were suspended in 2022. She said around 2.6 crore job card holders across 1.4 crore rural households were registered in the state, but alleged that the Centre had not released any funds since March 2022 and that outstanding dues amounted to ₹52,000 crore.

Moitra criticised the proposed 60:40 Centre-state cost-sharing formula, calling it the “death knell” of the scheme. She said the state’s financial burden would rise sharply, increasing its share by over 400 per cent.

According to the Bill, every rural household with adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work will be entitled to a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in a financial year. States will be required to frame their own schemes in line with the Act within six months of its commencement.

The BJP, meanwhile, accused the Congress of opposing the Bill for political reasons, alleging that the party was more concerned about the interests of the Gandhi family than national development.