Parliament clears G RAM G Bill amid uproar: Why MGNREGAs new version facing Oppositions ire
Following the passage of the Bill, the Opposition parties sat on a dharna outside the Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex and said that they would launch a country-wide agitation.
New Delhi: Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, or VB-G RAM G Bill was passed in the Parliament on Thursday after an immense uproar and overnight protest by the Opposition. The new rural jobs Bill seeks to replace and rename the 20-year-old rural employment guarantee scheme -- MGNREGA -- with a new statutory framework guaranteeing up to 125 days of wage employment every year in rural areas.
The VB-G RAM G Bill was cleared in the Parliament within two days amid huge pandemonium and vociferous protests by the Opposition. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill in the afternoon on Thursday despite a massive uproar. Hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it, the Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha in the evening and the debate over it went on post-midnight. Several members of the opposition staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the Bill and also tore pages of the Bill. The Upper House passed the Bill by voice vote around 12.15 am.
Following the passage of the Bill, the Opposition parties sat on a dharna outside the Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex and said that they would launch a country-wide agitation.
Centre vs Oppn over G Ram G Bill
Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who piloted the Bill in both Houses asserted that it was needed to fix shortcomings in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA), the UPA government's flagship scheme.. However, the Opposition opposed the Bill over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from MGNREGA and alleged that the financial restructuring proposed in the Bill would put the financial burden on states.
Responding to the five-hour discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Chouhan accused the Congress of "killing" the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi several times and using his name to further their political gains. He also alleged that during the UPA's rule, MGNREGA was riddled with corruption.
"This Bill is very necessary as it will help provide employment opportunities, help the development of rural India, and take the country forward," the minister said as he moved the Bill for passage.
During the debate in the Rajya Sabha, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the Centre over the proposed programme and said it will ruin the poor. "Don't have "Ram" on your lips and a dagger in your hand! You keep saying "Ram Ram" for the poor, but you have a dagger hidden behind your back," he said.
"My mother passed away in my childhood when I was 6-7 years old. I swear on her - this law is not good for the poor. I swear on my mother, I swear on Mother India, this law is not good for the poor," he said.
How is G RAM G different from MGNREGA?
The new Bill proposes to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work. Under MGNREGA, it was 100 days and the government even paid unemployment allowance in case there was no work.
The G RAM G also proposes financial restructuring of the scheme by imposing a 60:40 cost-sharing formula between the Centre and states for the wage bill. Earlier, it was a predominantly Centre-funded model.
Under it, employment will be generated through pre-approved plans. Earlier, workers could apply to gram panchayats if they needed work, now they will get work only if there is any.
The new legislation divides work into four categories -- water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and climate resilience. Under MGNREGA, it was decided by panchayats according to local needs.
Why is the Bill facing Opposition's fury?
The Bill has met with strong protests by the Opposition, which alleged that the Centre was trying to obliterate the name of Mahatma Gandhi from history. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said that the renaming MGNREGA is not just an administrative tweak but an "assault" on the very spirit and philosophical foundation of the crucial programme introduced by the then UPA government in 2005.
The Opposition is also objecting to the change in funding architecture and said that the massive shift in liability will "inevitably make implementation impossible for poorer states and will lead to delays in wage payments, and a reduction in the number of workdays".