Opposition MPs protest against VB-G RAM G bill, term it 'insult' to Bapu

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Several opposition MPs protested in the Parliament House complex on Tuesday over the VB-G RAM G Bill that has become a new flashpoint with the government, as they accused the BJP-led NDA dispensation of "insulting" Mahatma Gandhi by renaming MGNREGA scheme and demanded the withdrawal of the proposed legislation.

Soon after the government introduced the bill in Lok Sabha seeking to replace MGNREGA, Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, DMK's TR Baalu, RSP's N K Premchandran, among others, held the protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the complex, raising slogans like "Gandhi ji ka ye apmann nahi sahega Hindustan (country will not tolerate this insult of Mahatma Gandhi)".

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the government of attempting to finish off the rural employment guarantee law -- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 -- that was implemented by the erstwhile UPA dispensation.

The opposition MPs gathered near the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament with pictures of Mahatma Gandhi in hand and walked to the statue of the Father of the Nation at Prerna Sthal.

"Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, awakened the soul of the country. He played the biggest role in our country's freedom struggle... Today, the BJP doesn't have anything new to do, and that is why they are changing the name," Samajwadi Party chief and Lok Sabha MP Akhilesh Yadav said.

Speaking with reporters, Priyanka Gandhi also slammed the government for its "obsession with changing the names" of schemes.

"This scheme is named after Mahatma Gandhi who is our Father of the Nation," she pointed out.

She alleged that the BJP government, by introducing a bill to repeal MGNREGA, seeks to strip millions of labourers across the country of their legal guarantee to employment.

"The bill they have introduced is against millions of labourers in the country, as well as against village assemblies and village panchayats. It should be withdrawn immediately," she said.

The government has added two or three things to the bill that superficially suggest an increase in the number of working days. "But has the wage rate been increased?" she asked.

It would burden states and the poor ones will not be able to bear the cost, resulting in the collapse of the scheme, she said.

Earlier, the gram panchayat used to decide the work to be done under the scheme, but this bill gives the Centre that right and where funds are to be allocated, she said.

"So the right of the gram panchayat to decide where to allocate funds and where to get the work done is being snatched away. So from all perspectives we feel this bill is wrong," Priyanka Gandhi said.

Congress MP Manish Tewari spoke of the "crucial role" the scheme played during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In 2005, the UPA government brought in the MGNREGA law, and this has been the most successful scheme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi even had to increase the MGNREGA budget every year. During COVID, when millions of people migrated from cities back to their villages, MGNREGA played a crucial role in saving them, in protecting them. And today, this is a very strange situation," he said.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav said the Bill is not needed.

"By bringing this Bill, the BJP has only reinforced the allegations that they have opposed Gandhi from the very beginning. All the accusations made against them, from Gandhi's assassination to the present, are being confirmed. We will never support this bill," he said.

SP MP Ramji Lal Suman added, "Nobody is bigger than Mahatma Gandhi. They are the children of Godse, they (centre) should rename it to 'Godse' only," TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee also questioned the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name. "When I first came here after becoming an MP, it was called NREGA. Later, during Manmohan Singh's time, it was changed to MGNREGA in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi," Banerjee said.

"Why was Gandhi ji's name removed? Having Mahatma Gandhi's name everywhere feels good to all of us. The entire world recognises Mahatma Gandhi," he said.

TMC's Mahua Moitra said her party opposes the Bill. "How much lower will this government stoop? This will lead to an all-India, anti-government agitation because you are disrespecting the Father of the Nation," she said.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name.

Chouhan, while countering the opposition, said the government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles. "The (Narendra) Modi government has done more for rural development than previous governments," he said.

Opposition members pressed for sending the bill to a parliamentary panel for greater scrutiny. They also came into the Well of the House, holding photographs of Mahatma Gandhi.

According to a copy of the Bill, it will provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.

In a post on X, CPI General Secretary D Raja alleged that the act of removing Mahatma Gandhi's name confirms that BJP and its ideological mentors are "disciples of Godse".

The need of the hour is to expand the scope of MGNREGA to urban areas, not to destroy its vision and safeguards in rural India, he said and called upon the party units to organise protests in all districts on December 22 against the new Bill. PTI ASK AO RT RT