Parliament on Thursday passed the VB-G RAM G Bill, that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA and guarantee 125 days of rural wage employment every year, amid vociferous protests by the opposition, with Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserting that it was needed to fix shortcomings in the old scheme.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it on Thursday, amid strong protests by the opposition over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the existing rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and accusing the government of putting the financial burden on states.
Several members of the opposition staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the Bill after demanding its withdrawal and raising slogans against the government. They also tore pages of the Bill, with Chairman C P Radhakrishnan warning them not to go towards the treasury benches. The opposition parties later sat on a dharna outside the Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex against the Bill and claiming that they would launch a country-wide agitation. TMC MPs decided to remain on a 12-hour dharna in Parliament complex on the stairs of Samvidhan Sadan.
The opposition has also demanded that the Bill be sent to a parliamentary panel for further scrutiny.
Responding to the five-hour discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Chouhan accused the Congress of “killing” the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi several times and using his name to further their political gains.
“This Bill is very necessary as it will help provide employment opportunities, help development of rural India and take the country forward,” the minister said as he moved the Bill for passage. Chouhan said that during the UPA’s rule, MGNREGA was riddled with corruption and the expected amount of funds was not spent on the procurement of material for designated jobs.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a dream of making the country a developed nation for which development of villages is very important.
G RAM G will impact weaker sections: Cong
The Congress on Friday said the law brought in to replace MGNREGA has changed the basic character of the scheme and would lead to over-centralisation.
The principal opposition party asserted that it will draw up a roadmap to oppose the government move at its upcoming CWC meeting next week.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh alleged that this seems to be part of a “bigger conspiracy”, as the Modi government first targeted the Right to Information Act (RTI) and now the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Ramesh said the government move will hurt the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and the marginalised sections the most. He claimed that next in line might be the Forest Rights Act and the Land Acquisition Act, and eventually the government may even fiddle with the Food Security Act.