New Delhi (IANS) In a session marked by loud protests and sloganeering from Opposition benches, the Lok Sabha passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM-G Bill) via voice vote today. Opposition parties registered protests in the Parliament complex over the renaming of MGNREGA.
The legislation, which replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with an enhanced guarantee of 125 days of wage employment annually for rural households, was cleared despite demands for further scrutiny. The House was subsequently adjourned till December 19.
Renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to VB G RAM G has kicked off a major controversy, with many Opposition MPs taking exception to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name, stating that it will strip the scheme of its moral compass and also the government’s commitment to serve the poor and downtrodden classes.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, defending the Bill amid disruptions, sharply contrasted the government’s approach with the Opposition’s legacy. “The Congress party worked to kill Bapu’s ideals, while Narendra Modi ji worked to keep Bapu’s ideals alive,” he declared. Invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s vision, Chouhan highlighted how the Modi government’s flagship schemes embody Gandhian principles in action.
“Bapu is alive today in the houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, in Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission, in Ujjwala Yojana where smoke has been removed from ten crore kitchens, in Ayushman Bharat assuring treatment for 36 crore people, and in 1.5 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs providing affordable medicines,” he said in the House. He noted Gandhi’s presence in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Skill India, Atal Mission, and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
“Bapu is not just alive in pictures and posters, but in all our hearts. Bapu’s ideals are alive in this scheme,” Chouhan asserted, referencing the Bill’s 60:40 Centre-state funding ratio to build a “new India”. He emphasised that the legislation will play a pivotal role in uplifting the poor through empowerment, growth, and saturation of rural infrastructure.
Minister Chouhan concluded his emotive speech with a poem by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, underscoring national unity and progress.
The Opposition, led by Congress, decried the Bill as an erosion of MGNREGA’s demand-driven rights and an “insult” to Gandhi by removing his name. Protests continued throughout the reply, forcing brief adjournments earlier in the day. Earlier, Congress member K.C. Venugopal demanded that the Bill be referred to the JPC or the Standing Committee. After passing the Bill, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House for the day.
Amid the marathon debate in the Parliament over the renaming of MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G, Congress MPs and several Opposition leaders held a demonstration outside the Parliament complex on Thursday, to register their protest over the Centre’s “dictatorial approach” in repealing a law that has been instrumental in transforming crores of lives in vast rural swathes of India.
Congress MPs led by party president Mallikarjun Kharge held a march from the Gandhi Statue to Makar Dwar inside the Parliament premises, to protest the renaming of the UPA-era scheme. Sonia Gandhi also joined the march, demanding a rollback of the new legislation that seeks to replace MGNREGA.
The Opposition lawmakers carried posters and placards, with photos of Mahatma Gandhi inscribed on them and raised slogans — “Mahatma Gandhi ka apman nahin sahenge, nahin sahenge” (won’t tolerate insult to Mahatma Gandhi).
They said that this was not just an affront to the Father of the Nation by the Modi government, but also a brazen attempt to snatch the Right to Work, which brought socio-economic changes in lakhs of villages across the country.
Congress president vowed to launch a pan-India protest, from the Parliament to the streets, against the “tyranny of the ruling dictatorial government” and claimed that the Centre was not just erasing the game-changer scheme but also crushing the poor’s right to work under MGNREGA, a guaranteed 100-day employment, given to peasants and landless labourers, during the UPA dispensation.
Kharge said, “This is not about changing names. This is about snatching the right to work, particularly for those belonging to weak, marginalized communities and of the Dalit classes. Our party will hold demonstrations and protest marches across the country against this autocratic government. Our workers will resist any attempt to deprive the poor people of their right to work, and it will take place in all districts and states.”
