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‘Is this what Bapu wanted?’ BJP tears into Opposition after 'G Ram G' Bill torn in Lok Sabha
The VB-G RAM G Bill has been sharply criticised by the opposition as it replaces the Congress-led UPA's employment guarantee act.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned on a stormy note on Thursday after the lower house cleared the VB-G RAM G Bill, which seeks to replace the UPA-era MGNREGA. The Bill got Lok Sabha nod amid chaos, with tempers flaring between Opposition members and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs. The confrontation escalated to the tearing of copies of the legislation, further intensifying the row.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) bill, that aims to provides an employment guarantee of 125 days a year, has been sharply criticised by the opposition as it replaces the Congress-led UPA's employment guarantee act.
BJP tears into Opposition after Bill torn
Rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded to the eight-hour discussion on VB-G RAM G Bill, noting that the Modi government was ensuring that the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi were upheld through various initiatives taken by it.
As Chouhan spoke on the proposed legislation in Parliament, the Opposition MPs trooped to the well of the house, raising slogans and tearing copies of the bill, flinging it towards the chair.
Addressing a press conference on the Parliament ruckus later, Shivraj Singh Chouhan asked if “Bapu would accept this kind of disgraceful behaviour of Opposition standing atop desks in Parliament”.
Shivraj questioned the opposition, asking why there was a fuss over the name, adding, “Ram G ke naam par itni chidh kyu hain? The name ‘VB–G Ram G’ bill simply reflects the objectives which are employment and ajeevika.”
Outside Parliament, members of the ruling dispensation and the opposition remained divided over the proposed law. While the BJP termed the Bill “historic” and “pro-poor”, the opposition alleged it was forcefully passed without debate, claiming that Mahatma Gandhi’s dreams were crushed.
Also Read: VB-G RAM G bill to replace MGNREGA; sparks row in Parliament
BJP MP Sambit Patra said VB-G RAM G Bill was for a developed India and will work for the welfare of the poor.
"We all witnessed the proceedings in the House. More than ₹1.51 lakh crore will be spent under this bill. The poor will be guaranteed 125 days of work instead of 100, and rural infrastructure will be strengthened. But today, I must say with sorrow that the manner in which the Congress Party and some of its MPs behaved in the House will be remembered as a dark chapter in India’s parliamentary history," Patra told PTI.
He also said he was 'shocked' at the opposition's conduct, claiming that the bill was torn, thrown into the air and even folded into paper planes.
"I believe this is the first time such scenes have been witnessed. During the reply of Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, papers and bills were torn, thrown into the air, and even folded into paper planes. Students sitting in the visitors’ gallery were shocked to see what was happening in the House," he added.
'Disservice to legacy of Mahatma Gandhi'
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya also lashed at the Opposition saying it behaved in the most careless and unparliamentary manner.
"All respectable parliamentary codes of conduct were thrown away... The opposition has done a great disservice to the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. He was dead against corruption, and all that the Congress party has done is corruption," Surya told reporters outside the Parliament.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the proposed legislation will finish off the rural employment guarantee scheme completely.
"We will strongly oppose this bill. All parties are unanimously opposed to it. This bill will finish off MGNREGA. From whatever perspective you look at the bill, the increasing of work days from 100 days to 125 is their deceit. Anyone who reads the bill carefully would know that this scheme will be finished off in the next few days," Priyanka Gandhi told reporters.
Gandhi further claimed that the Bill would shift the burden onto the states and that the scheme would gradually be wound up “because state governments do not have enough money.”
Congress leader Karti Chidambaram echoes similar concerns, claiming that the new programme has now shifted the burden on the states, adding that most states don't have the funds.
Also Read: ‘Nehru even in their dreams’: Congress after govt seeks papers from Sonia Gandhi
Calling it a dark day in the democracy, he said, "A programme on which millions depended on for their livelihood, the MGNREGA, has been dismembered by this new bill they have brought in, which is nothing but a bad alphabet soup, VB-G Ram G. This programme has now shifted the burden on the states to fund it."
BJP leader Anurag Thakur said VB–G RAM G Bill is a very important bill for a developed India and that the poor will benefit with 125 wage days, instead of the earlier 100 days in MGNREGA.
"If we look back, since 1980 there have been several employment-related schemes. In 1989, it was called the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana; in 1999, it was renamed the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana; in 2001, it became the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana. When the UPA government came to power in 2004, it was called the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). Until then, the Congress did not invoke Mahatma Gandhi’s name... My question is this - if the poor are benefiting today, if instead of 100 days, they are getting 125 man days of work, with increased wages, then what is the objection?" Thakur asked.
Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Parliament conducted 10 hours of discussion on the bill, but the Congress was not ready to listen and it "started tearing papers and creating a ruckus".
Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan lauded the bill saying "All devotees of Ram will be very happy and Ayodhya will be happy." He hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for naming the bill after Lord Ram for the welfare of the poor.
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav claimed that the bill was "forcefully passed without consent". "The manner in which Mahatma Gandhi’s name was replaced shows the BJP’s hatred towards Mahatma Gandhi," Yadav told PTI.
Congress MP Manish Tewari, meanwhile, claimed that the Centre was renaming the scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi "for the politics of polarisation".
BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, while reacting to the bill, said, “What could be happier than this that Ram Rajya is coming. It is a new era, the golden Amrit Kaal, and we will define it. All governments and kings have done this - naming things as they deemed appropriate. When it is the time of Lord Ram, things will be named after him. There is nothing wrong with it.”
