The Opposition on Wednesday mounted a sharp attack in the Lok Sabha as the Narendra Modi government appeared to show haste on the contentious VB-G RAM G Bill to replace the flagship rural employment programme, MGNREGA, accusing the ruling BJP of attempting to deprive the poor of guaranteed work.

Opposition members focused their criticism on two key aspects of the proposed law: the renaming of the legislation, which removes Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the statute, and the provision requiring states to shoulder 40 per cent of the financial burden of the scheme.

Piloting the bill, rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the revamped legislation would guarantee 125 days of employment, up from the current 100 days under the MGNREGA. Opposition members, however, dismissed the claim as an eyewash, pointing out that the average number of workdays provided under the existing scheme was only 50-55.

The proposed VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, once passed by Parliament, will replace the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra accused the government of disrespecting both Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore by dropping Gandhi’s name from the scheme. She said it was Tagore who had conferred the title “Mahatma” on Gandhi, and alleged that the government was indulging in communal politics by inserting the name “Ram” in the legislation.

Opposing the bill, Moitra said a demand-driven MGNREGA was being replaced by an allocation-based framework, describing the proposed law as “retrograde”. “It takes us back to the pre-NREGA days,” she said, adding that the proposed 60:40 funding ratio between the Centre and the states would place a heavy fiscal burden on states. “This bill is not about development for anyone. This is not for Ram or Rahim,” she told the House.

DMK MP Kanimozhi accused the government of attempting to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states, objecting to the use of Hindi words in the English title of the bill.