The Narendra Modi government on Thursday railroaded the VB-G RAM G Bill through the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, overriding a protesting
Opposition’s demand to have it sent to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny.

The bill was passed by a voice vote in both Houses. In the Lok Sabha, the entire Opposition was in the Well, tearing and flinging copies of the bill, waving placards
bearing Mahatma Gandhi’s image, and sloganeering against the alleged attempt to hollow out the existing rural employment guarantee scheme.

The bill made it through the Rajya Sabha past midnight following an Opposition walkout and will now be sent to the President for the final nod.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House for the day after the bill’s passage, scrapping the scheduled afternoon debate on rising air pollution that the Opposition had sought and the government granted.

Friday is the last day of the winter session

Once Parliament passes it and the President gives her consent, the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, will replace the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The Opposition argues that the new legislation — which curtails the Centre’s funding liabilities while introducing a two-month pause in the programme every year and digital monitoring of workers’ attendance — would stifle the number of projects, hurting the rural poor.

Piloting the bill amid the din in the Lok Sabha, rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appeared keener on eulogising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and “Hindutva” and attacking the Congress than on answering the Opposition’s questions.

As the bill was taken up for passage, Congress member K.C. Venugopal urged the Speaker to refer it to a standing committee for wider consultations, citing the far-reaching impact the proposed legislation was likely to have on the lives of the poor.

Birla rejected the plea, saying the House had already discussed the bill past midnight on Wednesday. Following the ruling, Opposition members trooped into the Well to protest.

Replying to the Opposition’s charge that the government was disrespecting Mahatma Gandhi by removing his name from the scheme, Chouhan accused the Congress of having “stolen Gandhi’s title” and “killed Gandhi’s ideals”. He asserted that “Gandhi resides in our hearts”.

“We do not merely respect Bapu, we follow his principles. The Congress destroyed the ideals of Bapu, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured that Bapu lives on through the pucca houses under the PM Awas Yojana, the Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission and Ayushman Bharat,” he told the House.

Chouhan went on to extol the Prime Minister: “A new India is being built under the leadership of Modiji, and this scheme will play an important role in the welfare of the poor.”

He lauded the RSS, too, chastising the Opposition for invoking the organisation during the debate.

“The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh believes in character-building. It has created a garland of patriotic, honest, hardworking and dedicated workers who live for society,” the minister said.

Chouhan quoted extensively from Sanskrit religious texts and hailed “Hindutva” as an inclusive philosophy committed to the welfare of all.

He dismissed the Opposition’s accusation that the proposed 60:40 funding ratio between the Centre and the (non-hill) states would overburden the cash-strapped states.

He argued that the new finding pattern would make the states the key stakeholders and encourage greater ownership of the scheme on their part.

Under the MGNREGA, the Centre bears 90 per cent or more of the total cost.

Chouhan said the scheme was, in its current form, largely labour intensive while the new law had been designed to create durable assets.

He accused the Congress of corruption in the implementation of the MGNREGA.

“Under the present provisions, 60 per cent of the allocation is meant for labour and 40 per cent for material costs. It has been observed that of the 40 per cent earmarked for materials, the actual expenditure is only around 25-26 per cent. In some states, it is as low as 19-20 per cent,” he said.

Later, addressing the media at the BJP headquarters, Chouhan censured the Opposition for the ruckus in the House.

“Ram G ke naam par itni chidh kyun hai (Why this irritation over the name ‘Ram G’)?” he asked.

“I strongly condemn the disgraceful behaviour of the Congress and INDI bloc MPs. Democracy has been turned into mob rule and hooliganism…. The Opposition tore up copies of the bill; is this not an insult to Bapu’s principles?”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government had not just insulted the Father of the Nation, it had crushed the poor’s right to work. He promised a fight “from Parliament to the streets”.