‘Takes out the heart’: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on renaming MGNREGA
These remarks came as Parliament passed the Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill and the Rajya Sabha passed the bill following the approval of the Lok Sabha.
Speaking to media persons, Tharoor said, “We are unhappy about this for various reasons. This really rips out the heart of the entire Mahatma Gandhi rural employment programme…”
Tharoor on Tuesday claimed that trying to add the word “Ram” while removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name would be disrespectful to both names.
Referencing the iconic Kishore Kumar song from the 1970s titled ‘Ram ka Naam Badnam Na Karo’, Tharoor opposed the inclusion of multiple languages (Hindi and English) in the bill, while the Constitution demands the use of only one language.
“For Mahatma Gandhi, Gram Swaraj and Ram Rajya, ek hi hai, toh isme Mahatma Gandhi ka naam hatana theek nahi tha, aur hatane ke baad yeh constitution ke viroodh hai, frankly, aur eske baad G Ram G kehena. Ram ka naam toh bahut dusre context mein ismaal kar sakenge. Magar Mahatma Gandhi ka naam hatane ke liye, islliye mene kaha ki kim Ram ka naam badnaam kar rahe hai. (The name of the law is not correct because 2 languages have been used when according to the constitution one language should be used. Removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name is inherently okay but they have used more than one language to include ‘RAM’ in it. This is not a serious issue. Mahatma Gandhi used to talk about Ram Rajya and so was the vision of Ram Rajya and Gram Swaraj. When Gram Swaraj is there, Ram Rajya will prevail in our country… We can use his name in various contexts, but to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name? So I said don’t insult Lord Ram’s name, but they did the same,” Tharoor said.
He noted that the central government had unnecessarily added multiple words in multiple languages. “Using two languages, they used the words Garanti, Rozgar (employment) and Ajeevika (livelihood) and then there was ‘and’ in the middle, so they wanted to include ‘G RAM G’ in it as well.”
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) members are staging a 12-hour dharna (sit-in protest) against the passage of the Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, Viksit Bharat Guarantee for 2025, also known as the VB-G RAM G Bill.
Dharna is taking place in the Parliament complex outside Samvidhan Sadan against the bill. This bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 18 December 2025 and was subsequently approved by the Rajya Sabha early on 19 December amidst significant opposition.
While the passage of the VB-G RAM G Bill in both the Houses and the Upper House was postponed until Friday afternoon, its passage was marked by protests from Opposition benches, with members objecting to the way the government had passed the legislation.
The Lok Sabha passed the bill amid protests in which opposition MPs tore up copies and threw them in the air. The government argues that the bill will strengthen rural employment and livelihoods.
The bill guarantees 125 days of paid employment per rural household, up from the current 100 days of wages, for adult members willing to perform unskilled manual labor.
According to Clause 22 of the Bill, the pattern of fund sharing between the Central Government and State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir) the ratio will be 90:10.
Clause 6 of the bill allows state governments to notify in advance a period totaling sixty days in a financial year, covering peak agricultural seasons such as planting and harvesting.
Opposing the bill, the Congress staged a series of protests across the country on December 17, accusing the BJP and RSS of trying to “eliminate rights-based welfare”.
