Opposition MPs protest against VB-G RAM G Bill

Several Opposition MPs protested in the Parliament House complex on Tuesday over the VB-G RAM G Bill that has become a new flashpoint with the Government, as they accused the BJP-led NDA dispensation of “insulting” Mahatma Gandhi and demanded the withdrawal of the proposed legislation.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan amid strong objections by the Opposition to the “removal” of Mahatma Gandhi’s name. Chouhan, while countering the Opposition, said the Government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles. “The (Narendra) Modi Government has done more for rural development than previous Governments,” he said.

Soon after the Government introduced the bill in Lok Sabha seeking to replace MGNREGA, Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, DMK’s TR Baalu, RSP’s NK Premchandran, among others, held the protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the complex, raising slogans like “Gandhi ji ka ye apmann nahi sahega Hindustan (country will not tolerate this insult of Mahatma Gandhi)”.

Congress also announced to hold protests across the country on Wednesday against the VB-G RAM G, claiming it was a “BJP-RSS conspiracy” to dismantle a rights-based welfare scheme and attack Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, workers’ rights and federal responsibility.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the Government of attempting to finish off the rural employment guarantee law — Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 — that was implemented by the erstwhile UPA dispensation.

The Opposition MPs gathered near the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament with pictures of Mahatma Gandhi in hand and walked to the statue of the Father of the Nation at Prerna Sthal.

“Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, awakened the soul of the country. He played the biggest role in our country’s freedom struggle... Today, the BJP doesn’t have anything new to do, and that is why they are changing the name,” Samajwadi Party chief and Lok Sabha MP Akhilesh Yadav said.

Priyanka alleged that the BJP Government, by introducing a bill to repeal MGNREGA, seeks to strip millions of labourers across the country of their legal guarantee to employment. The Government has added two or three things to the bill that superficially suggest an increase in the number of working days.

“But has the wage rate been increased?” she asked.

Earlier, the gram panchayat used to decide the work to be done under the scheme, but this bill gives the Centre that right and where funds are to be allocated, she said.

Opposition members pressed for sending the bill to a parliamentary panel for greater scrutiny. They also came into the Well of the House, holding photographs of Mahatma Gandhi.