New Delhi, 16 December (H.S.): On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi voiced strong reservations against the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025—known as VB-G RAM G Bill—claiming it undermines the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and strays from Mahatma Gandhi's principles of rural empowerment.

Parliamentary Protests Highlight Divisions

Gandhi, in his Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition capacity, used X to argue that the legislation erodes secure livelihoods for the rural poor, following youth unemployment challenges, and removes Gandhi's name from the only law bearing it. Opposition lawmakers protested in the Parliament complex, holding Gandhi's portraits and calling for scrutiny via a standing committee amid Lok Sabha disruptions.

Key Reforms Fuel Policy Discourse

The bill advances to 125 guaranteed unskilled workdays per rural household from MGNREGA's 100, incorporates Centre-state funding ratios such as 60:40, mandates weekly payments, introduces three-year job cards, and ties into Viksit Bharat@2047 goals through infrastructure integration, prompting debates on fiscal equity and rural development efficacy.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar