Centre vs Opposition in Parliament over replacing MNREGA with VB-G RAM G Bill

A fierce war of words broke out inside and outside Parliament over Ram and Gandhi on Tuesday. While the opposition says the BJP has a problem with Mahatma Gandhi, the ruling party says the opposition hates the name Ram. At the center of this political struggle between the government and the opposition over Ram and Gandhi are the poor workers whom both Ram and Gandhiji valued.

The government introduced a bill titled Developed India – Employment and Livelihood Mission Rural Bill, 2025 in Parliament on December 16. This law is also referred to as the VB-G RAM G Bill. As soon as the bill was introduced, an uproar broke out. The opposition questioned the government’s intentions and started chanting slogans. Members of Parliament were aggressive both inside and outside the Lok Sabha. The opposition claims that the government has insulted Mahatma Gandhi through this VB-G RAM G Bill. Why is this new bill accused of insulting Gandhi?

The central government has a scheme called Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). For the last 20 years, this program has been employing workers in rural areas. Now the government plans to repeal this plan and introduce a new rural employment law. VB-G RAM G Bill was launched for this purpose. MNREGA was a scheme implemented during the tenure of the Congress government. It was implemented when the first UPA government came to power and has been in operation since February 2, 2006.

However, the current government introduced the VB-G RAM G Bill, claiming that it would improve the existing scheme. Congress claims that a new law was passed just to change the name. The government states that the new law aims to create a new framework for rural development in line with the national vision of a developed India by 2047. This involves replacing MNREGA with a more comprehensive plan.

MNREGA and VB-G RAM G Bill

1. While MNREGA guarantees employment for 100 days, the VB-G RAM G scheme increases this period to 125 days.
2. Previously, all expenses were borne by the central government. Under the new scheme, state governments will also have to contribute around 40 percent of the funds.
3. MNREGA workers have performed various types of work but will now be limited to tasks related to water security, basic rural infrastructure, livelihoods and climate change resilience.
4. MNREGA workers were required to work in all seasons. However, the new program allows exemption from work during peak agricultural seasons, especially during planting and harvesting.
5. Previously, wages were paid every 15 days, but now weekly payments can also be made.

The entire opposition, including the Congress party, claims that Mahatma Gandhi’s name has been removed from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) with only minor changes in the scheme. They claim that removing Gandhi’s name from any plan reflects the parochial mentality of the BJP. In response, the government is putting forward the name of the new scheme. The government says the new plan includes the name ‘Ram’ and the opposition is expressing anger over this. We will tell you how the plan for the poor and working people turned into a war of words between Ram and Gandhi.

A comparative study of both governments makes it clear that the people benefited. However, the benefits received were not as significant as they should have been during either the UPA government or the NDA government.