Rights-based law converted to discretionary scheme: CPI on VB-G RAM G replacing MGNREGA

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) The Communist Party of India on Tuesday opposed the new VB-G RAM G Bill that is set to replace the flagship rural employment scheme MGNREGA, and accused the Union government of dismantling a rights-based law and converting it into a discretionary scheme.

In an X post, CPI General Secretary D Raja said the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the Bill confirms that the BJP and its ideological mentors are "disciples of Godse".

"The CPI strongly opposes the Union government's move to bring a new rural employment Bill to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)," Raja said.

"The deliberate removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from this historic law is not a mere administrative change but a deeply fascist ideological act that exposes the BJP's contempt for the values and legacy of Gandhiji. This act confirms what the people of India already know, that the BJP and its ideological mentors are indeed true disciples of Godse," he said.

"By dismantling a rights-based law and converting it into a discretionary scheme, the government is undermining the very idea of guaranteed employment and reducing rural workers to the mercy of official quotas and contractor-driven mechanisms," the CPI leader said.

He said the MGNREGA, enacted by the United Progressive Alliance government with Left support, is a major milestone in the history of Indian Republic and a cornerstone of the constitutional concept of the Right to Work.

He said it flows directly from the Directive Principles of State Policy, which mandates the state to strive to provide means of livelihood to all citizens.

"The Act institutionalised a floor wage in rural India and any dilution of its provisions will inevitably lead to increased exploitation of rural workers. At a time when artificial intelligence and automation are destroying jobs in urban areas and among the educated, 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.

Raja said while the government is claiming on paper that workdays will be increased to 125 per year, the proposed Bill removes the scheme's demand-driven nature, effectively stripping workers of their right to demand employment.

"This will leave labourers vulnerable to contractors, local authorities and landlords. MGNREGA has played a crucial role in sustaining rural demand and has rescued the Indian economy from recessionary pressures on several occasions, most notably during the COVID crisis," he said.

He said the new Bill also shifts 40 per cent of the financial burden onto state governments, many of which are already facing severe fiscal stress due to "faulty GST (goods and services tax) design, Union apathy and political vendetta".

"Such a far-reaching change should never have been introduced without wide consultation and a clear focus on increasing wages and guaranteed workdays. The CPI asserts that this anti-worker and anti-constitutional move will be firmly resisted by workers and democratic forces across the country," he said.

He called upon the party units to organise protests in all districts on December 22 against the new Bill.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 -- or VB-G RAM G Bill -- 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, 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. PTI AO RUK RUK