NEW DELHI, Dec 16 — The government on Tuesday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, triggering sharp protests from opposition parties over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the flagship rural jobs programme.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, was introduced by Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan amid sloganeering and objections from opposition members, who demanded that the legislation be sent to a parliamentary standing committee for detailed scrutiny.
Opposition MPs, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, walked into the Well of the House holding photographs of Mahatma Gandhi to protest what they called an affront to the legacy of the Father of the Nation.
“The removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name is unacceptable,” Priyanka Gandhi said during the protests. “This law was built on his ideals of dignity of labour.”
Responding to the objections, Chouhan said the government remained committed to Gandhian principles. “We believe in Mahatma Gandhi and follow his ideals,” he said. “The Narendra Modi government has done more for rural development than previous governments.”
According to the bill, the proposed law guarantees 125 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to perform unskilled manual work.
The legislation also mandates that states frame their own schemes under the new law within six months of its commencement.
