"Modi ji has deep hatred for Mahatma Gandhi's ideas, rights of poor": Rahul Gandhi lambasts Centre over VB-G RAM-G Bill

New Delhi [India], December 16 : Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday termed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, or the VB-G RAM-G Bill, replacing the MGNREGA, an "insult to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi."
Launching a scathing attack at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from the nation's flagship rural employment scheme, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Centre initially weakened the scheme and is now wiping it out.
The Congress MP, in a post on X, said, "Modi ji has a deep hatred for two things - the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the rights of the poor. MGNREGA is a living embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi's dream of village self-rule - it is a lifeline for millions of rural lives, which also proved to be their economic safety shield during the COVID era. However, Prime Minister Modi has always been irritated by this scheme, and for the past ten years, he has been trying to weaken it. Today, he is determined to wipe out MGNREGA completely."
Rahul Gandhi lambasted the Centre for the 60:40 share of the Union and State governments, respectively, in funding the scheme and 'no work' provided under the Act during the peak agricultural season.
"The foundation of MGNREGA was based on three core ideas. 1. Right to employment - whoever demands work will get it, 2. Freedom for villages to decide their own development works, 3. The central government will bear the full cost of wages and 75 per cent of the material costs. Now, Prime Minister Modi wants to change this very MGNREGA to concentrate all power solely in his own hands -1. The centre will decide the budget, schemes, and rules 2. States will be forced to bear 40 per cent of the expenses. 3. As soon as the budget is exhausted or during the crop harvest season, no one will get work for two months," he said.
He announced that Congress will oppose the Bill on the streets and in Parliament.
"This new bill is an insult to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi - the Modi government has already destroyed the future of India's youth through severe unemployment, and now this bill is a means to eliminate the secure livelihood of rural poor as well. We will oppose this anti-people bill from the village lanes all the way to Parliament," the X post read.
The Opposition has criticised the Bill for changing the scheme's name and removing Mahatma Gandhi from it. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with other Opposition MPs, held a protest at the Parliament premises
The Bill introduced by the Agriculture Minister in the Lok Sabha guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work. As per Section 22 of the Bill, the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States, and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), it will be 90:10.
Section 6 of the Bill allows the State governments to notify in advance, a period aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting, when no work will be commenced or executed under the Bill.
Earlier today, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra strongly opposed the Bill, asserting that the proposed legislation would "weaken" the original Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and undermine its guaranteed 100 days of employment.
Participating in the Lok Sabha debate, the Wayanad MP said that no legislation should be rushed through Parliament without adequate consultation or discussion, and alleged that the Bill was being pushed through due to "personal obsession" or "bias."
"The bill should not be rushed through without proper consultation with the House or any discussion. It ought to be withdrawn, and the government should introduce a new bill," Priyanka Gandhi said while addressing the House.
Referring to Mahatma Gandhi, she added, "Although Mahatma Gandhi was not personally related to me, he was like family. This is the emotion of the entire nation. This bill should be referred to the Standing Committee for detailed examination. No legislation should be pushed through merely due to personal obsession or bias."