‘G Ram G’ bill receives presidential assent: Chidambaram says removing Gandhi’s name from MNREGA is like killing him again
President Droupadi Murmu today, Sunday, approved the Developed India – Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Guarantee Bill, 2025 (VB-G-RAM-G). It has now become law. The new law will replace the 20-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Meanwhile, Congress leader P. Chidambaram said on Sunday that removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from MGNREGA is like killing him again. Gandhi was killed once on January 30, 1948. Now he is being killed again.
At a press conference in Chennai, Chidambaram said that you (the central government) are trying to erase Gandhi and Nehru from official records, but they are etched in the minds of the Indian people, like Buddha or Jesus. No government order can erase them.
The central government had introduced the VB-G-RAM-G bill during the winter session. The bill was passed by Parliament on December 18.
Chidambaram said the claim of 125 days of employment is false
- The name VB-G RAM G is incomprehensible to Indians living in rural areas of South India. Even some ministers may not understand what these names mean. The law now states that unless states use this exact name, they will not receive funding.
- The MGNREGA scheme, which was previously universal, will now be limited to certain districts chosen by the central government. This is contrary to the original structure of MGNREGA, which extended to every rural district. The new version is no longer national in scope and will not include urban or town panchayat areas.
- The new law shifts the responsibility for funding to the states. Previously, the central government bore the entire wage cost and 75 percent of the material costs. Now, states will have to contribute to the expenditure. If a state says it does not have the funds, the scheme will not be implemented there.
- Chidambaram also rejected the government’s claim that they would increase the number of workdays to 125. In fact, the national average is currently 50 days, and only a few laborers manage to complete the stipulated 100 days.
A day earlier, Sonia Gandhi had said – the government has bulldozed MNREGA
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had also reacted to the VB-G RAM G bill a day earlier. She released a video saying that the government has bulldozed MNREGA, which provides employment to the needy. Now, who will get how much employment, where, and in what manner, will be decided by the government sitting in Delhi, far removed from the ground reality.
The bill was passed after 14 hours of discussion in Parliament
The VB-G RAM G bill was discussed for 14 hours in the Lok Sabha. Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said that MNREGA was not initially named after Mahatma Gandhi. It was first called NREGA. Later, when the 2009 elections came, Mahatma Gandhi was remembered because of the elections and votes. Only then was Mahatma Gandhi’s name added to it.
The opposition also took out a march in the Parliament premises against this bill. More than 50 opposition MPs participated in it and raised slogans demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G-RAM-G bill. TMC MPs also protested overnight in the Parliament premises.
