VB-G RAM G bill to replace MGNREGA; sparks row in Parliament
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that this move was part of a larger attempt to weaken and ultimately dismantle the flagship rural employment scheme.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G, which seeks to replace the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, sparked a controversy on Monday with government officials saying the new bill aligns with the Viksit Bharat (developed India) goal and Opposition asking for the draft legislation to be sent to a standing committee.
“MGNREGA works were scattered across many categories without a robust national strategy. The new act focuses on 4 major types of works ensuring durable assets that directly support water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure creation and climate adaptation. The new Act mandates Viksit gram panchayat plans, prepared by panchayats themselves and integrated with national spatial systems like PM Gati-Shakti,” said a government functionary aware of the details.
The officials also said that the new scheme will benefit the rural economy through productive asset creation, higher incomes, and better resilience and farmers will benefit directly through both labour availability and better agricultural infrastructure.
But the Opposition attacked the bill.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that this move was part of a larger attempt to weaken and ultimately dismantle the flagship rural employment scheme.
“This is not just about renaming the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This is a BJP-RSS conspiracy to end MGNREGA. Erasing Gandhi’s name on the centenary of the Sangh shows how hollow and hypocritical those are who, like Modi ji, offer flowers to Bapu on foreign soil. The government that recoils from the rights of the poor is the one that attacks MGNREGA,” Kharge posted on X.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, a former rural development minister said, “The entire Opposition is demanding that the following three far-reaching bills be referred to the standing committees concerned. We are hopeful that in keeping with the best of parliamentary traditions and practices, this demand will be agreed to by the government. The bills require deep study and wide consultations. 1. Higher Education Commission Bill 2. Atomic Energy Bill 3. G-RAM-G Bill.”
CPI(M) lawmaker John Brittas said that removing Mahatma Gandhi was only “the trailer and the real damage is deeper.”
“125 days is the headline. 60:40 (share of expenditure) is the fine print - MGNREGA was a fully centrally funded one for unskilled wages; G RAM G downgrades it with states to bear 40%. States will now have to shell out around Rs. 50,000+ crore. Kerala alone will have to bear an additional 2,000–2,500 crore. Cost-shifting by stealth, not reform. This is the new federalism: States pay more, Centre walks away, yet claims the credit,” he said.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said the BJP is “sabotaging and destroying Mahatma Gandhi’s 100 Days Employment Guarantee scheme.
“Out of spite towards the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, they have removed his name and imposed a northern language name that doesn’t even enter the mouth! For a scheme that is being implemented entirely with 100% funding from the Union government, they will now allocate only 60% funding,” he said.
Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor said that the controversy was unfortunate. “The concept of Gram Swaraj and the ideal of Ram Rajya were never competing forces; they were the twin pillars of Gandhiji’s consciousness. Replacing the Mahatma’s name in a scheme for the rural poor ignores this profound symbiosis. His final breath was a testament to ‘Ram’; let us not dishonour his legacy by creating a division where none existed,” he said.
