Government says G RAM-G to rural employment guarantee scheme
Days after it was reported in certain sections of the media that the two-decades-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was to be renamed as Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana Bill, sources in the Union Government say, the Government is likely to
introduce Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 by rechristening the existing rural employment law MGNREGA.
Sources said the G-RAM-G Bill is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha during the next couple of days in the ensuing Winter session of Parliament. Sources also said that the Government had proposed in the last Cabinet meeting the name as INRPujya Bapu…Yojana’, but the title received a backlash amongst the netizens which related it to some of Godmen languishing in jails. Rather using Pujya Bapu as centuries old synonym to Mahatma Gandhi, the title was called upon Godmen not known for good reasons across the world yet having a large number of followers.
“Public sentiments were taken into account and hence a brainstorming was done to rephrase the MNREGA Bill. The Cabinet was also annoyed the way the Bills discussed last Wednesday was leaked much in advance,” sources added.
Congress who had brought the MNREGA during its tenure at Centre in 2005 demanded the G-RAM-G bill along with three bills to be discussed in this Winter Session be sent to Standing Committee. “The Bills require deep study and wide consultations. Higher Education Commission Bill, Atomic Energy Bill, G-RAM-G Bill,” Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh said.
“The controversy over renaming MGNREGA in the Govt’s proposed new G-RAM-G Bill is 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 posted on social media.
