VB-G RAM G Bill deliberate, well-planned attack on rural India: Haryana Cong chief

Gurugram, Dec 21 (PTI) Haryana Congress chief Rao Narender Singh on Sunday termed the VB-G RAM G Bill a "deliberate and well-planned attack on rural India", and alleged the Narendra Modi government has wiped out the achievements of the UPA-era MGNREGA legislation in a single day.

Parliament on December 18 passed the VB-G RAM G Bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA and guarantees 125 days of wage employment every year amid vociferous protests by the opposition against the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the proposed rural employment law.

Addressing a protest in Nuh on Sunday against the BJP-led NDA government's move, Singh claimed the VB-G RAM G bill dismantles a rights-based, demand-driven employment guarantee and converts it into a centrally controlled, arbitrary scheme.

"This law is not only an assault on the rights of states, but also weakens the self-reliance of villages," he said.

The Haryana Congress chief also strongly objected to the law being "forced" through Parliament without scrutiny by a standing committee. "Passing a law that affects the lives of crores of rural workers without expert consultation or public debate is an insult to democracy," he said.

Congress workers held a silent 'Satyagraha' at the New Colony turnabout in Gurugram on Sunday to protest against the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The protest was led by Pankaj Dawar, the Gurugram District President (Urban) of the Congress.

Addressing the gathering, party district president Pankaj Dawar said the poor, who earned two meals a day through MGNREGA, have this name ingrained in their minds. The BJP government may change the name on paper, but it can't erase MGNREGA from the souls of those poor people, he added. PTI COR NSD NSD