By Raveena Kumari 
Parliament Winter Session: Union Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who tabled the bill, countered Priyanka Gandhi said the government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles.
The opposition on Tuesday vehemently criticised the government’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGA) after the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 was tabled in the Lok Sabha. Leading the opposition’s charge was Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who said she has failed to understand the government’s ‘obsession’ with renaming schemes.
Priyanka Gandhi, a Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, said that the bill should be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for greater scrutiny. The senior Congress leader also said that the bill is against essence of the Constitution.
“For so many years, you (government) have been reducing funds for MGNREGA, wherever one goes, labourers will say money has not come,” she said. “So the right of the gram panchayat to decide where to allocate funds and where to get the work done is being snatched away. So from all perspectives we feel this bill is wrong.”
Shivraj Chouhan counters Priyanka Gandhi
Union Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who tabled the bill, countered Priyanka Gandhi said the government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles. He said the legislation will only help in further developing the village of the country.
“We will realise Mahatma Gandhi’s dream and establish the Ram Rajya he dreamed of,” Chouhan, who is also the Union Agricultural Minister, said amid continuous sloganeering by the opposition MPs.
What is VB-G Ram G Bill, 2025?
The bill says that it will provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work. Within six months from the date of commencement of the VB-G RAM G Act, states will have to make a scheme consistent with the provisions of the new law.
The financial liability would be shared between the Centre and the state governments. It would be 90:10 for the Northeastern states and Himalayan states, and 60:40 for all other states and Union territories with legislature. For the UTs without a legislature, the whole cost would be borne by the Centre.
Khabar Rojana