TMC MPs stage a 12-hour dharna against passing of VB-G RAM G Bill

New Delhi [India], December 19 : Members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are staging a 12-hour dharna (sit-in protest) against the passing of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, also known as the VB-G RAM G Bill.
The dharna is taking place outside Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex against the Bill. This bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 2025, and subsequently cleared by the Rajya Sabha early on December 19, amid significant opposition.
With the passage of the VB-G RAM G Bill in both Houses and the Upper House adjourning until Friday afternoon, the passage was marked by protests from the Opposition benches, with members objecting to the manner in which the government pushed it through.
TMC MPs Sagarika Ghose, Derek O'Brien, Sushmita Dev, Dola Sen, Ritabrata Banerjee, Mausam Noor, Prakash Chik Baraik, and other party MPs, along with the INDIA bloc MPs, were present at the protest site.
TMC MP Sagarika Ghose, present at the protest site, claimed the passing of the bill as "the second assassination of Mahatma Gandhi" and a disrespect to Rabindranath Tagore, who bestowed the honorific 'Mahatma' on Gandhi.
Speaking to the media, TMC MP Sagarika Ghose said, "The manner in which the Modi government has brought in this completely anti-poor, anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-rural bill, and has done away with the MNREGA, is an insult to India's poor, to Mahatma Gandhi, and also to Rabindranath Tagore. With just five hours' notice, this bill was presented to us, and we were not afforded a proper debate. We demanded that the bill be sent to a select committee so that opposition parties can examine and discuss it. In a display of tyranny, in a murder of democracy, today this government has bulldozed this bill... We are now going to sit on a 12-hour dharna against the manner in which this passed... This is the second assassination of Mahatma Gandhi."

Her X handle stated, "12-hour dharna by @AITCofficial begins on the steps of Parliament to protest at the @narendramodi government's destruction of the MNREGA. It's a grave insult to the Mahatma, to Rabindranath Tagore and to the rural workforce which depends on MNREGA."
https://x.com/sagarikaghose/status/2001740184384360705
TMC MP Sushmita Dev was also present at the protest and posted about it on her official X handle.
She posted, "Twelve hours dharna at parliament against a law that amends MNREGS to dilute 100 days Job guarantee. NDA reduces its responsibility to pay from 90% to 60%. No committee scrutiny, just bulldozed. @BJP4India stands exposed as they remove the name of Mahatma Gandhi from the Act."
https://x.com/SushmitaDevAITC/status/2001752300176707813
With several slogans raised among the opposition protests, there were also banners held by the opposition members with a statement, "Don't Kill MGNREGA, Like you killed Gandhi", as a sign of protest.
The bill has sparked controversy, with opposition parties alleging that it disrespects Mahatma Gandhi and weakens rural employment guarantees. The bill increases guaranteed rural employment from 100 to 125 days but shifts 40% of the funding burden to states, unlike MGNREGA, which was fully Centre-funded.
The opposition, including TMC, Congress, and other parties, demands the bill's withdrawal, citing concerns over the removal of Gandhi's name and potential dilution of workers' rights. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan defends the bill, calling it a welfare reform rooted in "Ram Rajya" values.
The Lok Sabha passed the bill amid protests, with opposition MPs tearing copies and throwing them in the air. The government maintains the bill will strengthen rural employment and livelihoods.
Parliament on Friday passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB--G RAM G) Bill, with Rajya Sabha approving the legislation after it got the nod of the Lok Sabha.
Opposition members staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha before the bill seeking to replace MGNREGA was passed. They pressed that the bill should be sent to a Select Committee.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the bill will play an essential role in the welfare of the poor. He accused Congress of disrespecting Mahatma Gandhi's ideals.
Participating in the debate, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari said the party will restore the MGNREGA legislation when it comes to power.
"The day we return to power, Gandhi's name will be there, and MNREGA will be restored in its original form. That is our promise. We will bring back Gandhi's name. We will put an end to your Godse-like tendencies," he said, targeting the BJP.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took several jibes at the BJP government and said that the time will come when they will take back the legislation.
"A person, a minister, who shows compassion towards the poor, is now ending the MNREGA. There is some compulsion you are not disclosing to others... In the coming days, a time will come when you will take back this law, just like the three farm laws. Do you want an agitation where people block roads, protest, sustain bullet injuries, and die? Only then will you regain control of the law? People will come out on the streets, face bullets, but never support this law. We will continue fighting... 'Gareeb logon ko jo ye sapna dikha rahe hain, wo kabhi poora nahi hoga'," he said.
Congress MP Digvijaya Singh said he doesn't understand the justification for changing the name of the MGNEGA.
"I did not understand the justification given for changing the name of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, but if you try to understand it, the ideology behind it becomes clear. This ideology is completely contrary to Mahatma Gandhi's idea of Gram Swaraj," he said.
The discussion in the Rajya Sabha went beyond midnight.
The Bill 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.
Opposing the Bill, Congress announced a series of nationwide protests on December 17, accusing the BJP and RSS of attempting to "dismantle rights-based welfare".
The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Thursday amid protests and sloganeering by opposition members.