By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Amid strong protests from the opposition, Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Tuesday introduced the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB–G RAM G Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha.
Under this, a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment will be provided every year. “It is their resolve to ensure welfare of the poor and they have striven to fulfill that resolve. The Bill proposes not only the welfare of the poor but also the comprehensive development of villages, reflecting Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a complete, self-reliant, and developed village. Moreover, the central government has committed to spending over ₹95,000 crore on this initiative,” the Minister said.
Singh said that many employment schemes have existed before in India, one such being the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. Later, the Congress renamed the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. “So, does that mean disrespect to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru?” Singh asked. He added that budget allocations for the welfare of the poor have often been uneven, leaving many panchayats underdeveloped. Therefore, the Bill includes provisions to grade panchayats and assign more work to those that are less developed and underperforming.
Shivraj Singh said that Mahatma Gandhi resides in our hearts, and his and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya’s resolve was to prioritise the welfare of the most backward and downtrodden people in the society. The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is operating several welfare schemes for the poor based on the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
The Union Minister further said that regarding MGNREGA, the Congress and UPA had only started the scheme and spent ₹2,13,220 crore on it, while his government has spent ₹8,53,810 crore on welfare schemes for the poor and has worked to strengthen this scheme. “Why is there still opposition? Instead of the earlier 100-day guarantee, we are now offering a 125-day guarantee. This is not an empty guarantee; a provision of more than ₹1,51,282 crore has been made for this,” he said.
The Congress said it will hold protests across the country on Wednesday against the Centre’s rural employment bill VB-G RAM G that seeks to replace MGNREGA, claiming it was a “BJP-RSS conspiracy” to dismantle a rights-based welfare scheme and attack Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, workers’ rights and federal responsibility.
KC Venugopal, in a letter to all state Congress presidents, urged them to organise protests at all district headquarters. “These protests must be held with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, symbolising resistance to the erasure of his name and values, and highlight how the proposed law will impact the crores of beneficiaries of MGNREGA,” he said in the letter.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the government’s move on MNREGA and it was trying to snatch away the legal guarantee of employment from millions of workers in India. “By introducing a bill to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the BJP government wants to snatch away the legal guarantee of employment from millions of workers in the country,” she said.
The bill they have introduced is against millions of workers, Gram Sabhas, and Gram Panchayats across the country. It should be withdrawn immediately, she said.