Opposition Leaders said the Rural Jobs bill threatens rural livelihoods and erases Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy from a landmark employment scheme.
BY PC Bureau
NEW DELHI, December 19, 2025: Opposition parties held an overnight 12-hour dharna within the Parliament complex on Thursday to protest the passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, or VB-G RAM G Bill, which replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The protest followed the Bill’s clearance amid uproar in both Houses of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha passed the legislation after midnight through a voice vote, hours after it was approved by the Lok Sabha, even as opposition members demanded its withdrawal and pressed for it to be sent to a parliamentary panel for detailed scrutiny.
Opposition MPs accused the government of fast-tracking the Bill without meaningful discussion and of dismantling a landmark rural employment programme that they said had provided a crucial safety net for crores of poor families. Several members staged walkouts, shouted slogans and tore copies of the Bill in the Upper House, drawing repeated warnings from the Chair.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose said the government had forced the legislation through Parliament. “This is an insult to India’s poor and to the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. We were given barely five hours’ notice and denied a proper debate,” she said, announcing the overnight sit-in. She described the move as an assault on democratic norms.
Friday morning 4 am . @AITCofficial 12 hour dharna on the steps of Parliament. It’s freezing 🥶 and a dense fog is rolling in. But when we have Mahatma Gandhi & Rabindranath Tagore for company, what can go wrong ? pic.twitter.com/31WwCdSbcz
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 18, 2025
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the development “a dark day for India’s workers”, alleging that the government had jeopardised the livelihoods of millions. “By scrapping MGNREGA, the BJP government has attacked the income security of nearly 12 crore people. This exposes its anti-farmer and anti-poor mindset,” he said.
Congress leader Mukul Wasnik said MGNREGA had been framed after 14 months of consultations and passed with broad political consensus. He warned that the new scheme would impose an unsustainable financial burden on states and could eventually collapse.
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DMK leader Tiruchi Siva accused the government of systematically erasing Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy by removing his name from the scheme. “Gandhi symbolises freedom for this nation. Even the British Parliament honours him, but here his name is being removed from a programme that stood for dignity and work,” he said.
Defending the legislation, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the new law was intended to correct deficiencies in the previous scheme and accelerate rural development. “This Bill will generate employment, strengthen rural livelihoods and contribute to the nation’s progress,” he said in his reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Chouhan accused the opposition, particularly the Congress, of politicising Gandhi’s name and disrupting parliamentary proceedings. He also cited funding data, saying the UPA government had allocated ₹2.13 lakh crore under MGNREGA, while the NDA had released nearly ₹8.53 lakh crore.
Unconvinced, opposition parties said the manner in which the Bill was passed set a troubling precedent and announced plans to expand their protest beyond Parliament and onto the streets nationwide.
