The Opposition parties have launched a scathing attack on the Central government's proposal to replace the existing rural employment law Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 – dropping the name of Mahatma Gandhi from the name.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a sharp jibe at the Central government, recalling the 1971 Bollywood song from Haré Rama Haré Krishna starring Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman – “Dekho o deewano tum ye kaam na karo, Ram ka naam badnaam na karo.”
The MP from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram asserted that the bill is not merely an administrative tweak but an “assault on the very spirit and philosophical foundation of this crucial programme”. He said it was “deeply regrettable and retrograde step.”
“My first objection, as with others, is the ill-advised decision to remove the name of the Father of the Nation, for the reasons already stated, which I will not repeat. But this is not merely an administrative tweak, it is an assault on the very spirit and philosophical foundation of this crucial programme,” he said.
Asserting that Gandhi's vision of Ram Rajya was never a purely political project, the former Union minister said it was a socio-economic blueprint rooted in the empowerment of villages, and his unwavering faith in Gram Swaraj was part of his vision of Ram Rajya.
“The original Act, by bearing his name, acknowledged this profound connection -- that true employment guarantee and upliftment must flow from the grassroots, embodying his principle of the last person first. To remove the name of Mahatma Gandhi is to strip the bill of its moral compass and historical legitimacy,” Tharoor said.
“Then to have two languages in the title just to make the acronym G RAM G is not just a violation of Article 348, as pointed out in the previous discussion, but it also reminds me of a song from my childhood – ‘Dekho o deewano (tum) ye kaam na karo, Ram ka naam badnaam na karo’,” he added.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is leading the protests against the VB-G RAM G Bill, has strongly opposed the dropping of the name Mahatma Gandhi from the Bill. She also accused the government of finishing off the rural employment guarantee law.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 in question was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, December 16, amid strong objections from the Opposition.
Introducing the bill, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Centre not only believes in Gandhi but also follows his principles. "The (Narendra) Modi government has done more for rural development than previous governments," he said.
As the Bill was introduced, Opposition leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav, TR Baalu, NK Premchandran, and others, held the protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the complex, raising slogans like ‘Gandhi ji ka ye apmann nahi sahega Hindustan.’
Some Opposition members also gathered in the Well of the House, holding up photographs of Mahatma Gandhi to protest against the name change.
