New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) The Congress staged a protest on Friday against replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill (VB-G RAM G Bill) on the Parliament premises.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also participated in the demonstration. The party had earlier asked for the Bill to be sent to a select committee or a JPC.

The protesting leaders have termed the Bill not just an affront to the Father of the Nation by the Modi government, but also an attempt to snatch the Right to Work, which brought socio-economic changes in lakhs of villages.

Earlier, the Trinamool Congress MPs held a 12-hour-long dharna on the Parliament premises, protesting the manner in which the Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament.

The sit-in protest began around 1 a.m. outside the main gate of the old Parliament building. The Trinamool Congress leaders alleged that the Bill was rushed through without adequate discussion, violating parliamentary norms and undermining democratic processes.

On December 18, the Lok Sabha passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM-G Bill) via voice vote. The Bill, which replaces the MGNREGA with an enhanced guarantee of 125 days of wage employment annually for rural households, was cleared despite the opposition’s demands for further scrutiny. The House was subsequently adjourned till December 19.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, defending the Bill amid disruptions, sharply contrasted the government’s approach with the Opposition’s legacy.

“The Congress party worked to kill Bapu’s ideals, while Narendra Modi ji worked to keep Bapu’s ideals alive,” he declared.

Invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s vision, Chouhan highlighted how the Modi government’s flagship schemes embody Gandhian principles in action.

“Bapu is alive today in the houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, in Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission, in Ujjwala Yojana where smoke has been removed from ten crore kitchens, in Ayushman Bharat assuring treatment for 36 crore people, and in 1.5 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs providing affordable medicines,” he said in the House.

He further noted Gandhi’s presence in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Skill India, Atal Mission, and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

“Bapu is not just alive in pictures and posters, but in all our hearts. Bapu’s ideals are alive in this scheme,” Chouhan asserted, referencing the Bill’s 60:40 Centre-state funding ratio to build a “new India”.

He emphasised that the legislation will play a pivotal role in uplifting the poor through empowerment, growth, and saturation of rural infrastructure.

Minister Chouhan concluded his emotive speech with a poem by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, underscoring national unity and progress.

–IANS

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