'Let's Not Dishonour Mahatma's Legacy': Shashi Tharoor On Renaming MGNREGA

The controversy over the renaming of the flagship MNREGA  to "G Ram G" is "unfortunate", said senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. The Congress and a few other Opposition parties, including Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, have taken a hard line against the renaming, setting the stage for more confrontations with the government in the ongoing winter session of parliament.   

In his post on X, Tharoor said, "The concept of Gram Swaraj and the ideal of Ram Rajya were never competing forces; they were the twin pillars of Gandhiji's consciousness".

"Replacing the Mahatma's name in a scheme for the rural poor ignores this profound symbiosis. His final breath was a testament to 'Ram'; let us not dishonour his legacy by creating a division where none existed," he added.

For followers foxed by the post and whether his objection is to the "controversy" or the "renaming", Tharoor had a clarification: "It's pretty clear that I am objecting to replacing the Mahatma's name. Read my tweet. (3rd sentence, in case you couldn't find it)".

The controversy over renaming MGNREGA in the Govt's proposed new G-RAM-G Bill is unfortunate. The concept of Gram Swaraj and the ideal of Ram Rajya were never competing forces; they were the twin pillars of Gandhiji's consciousness. Replacing the Mahatma's name in a scheme for...

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 15, 2025

The MNREGA -- named after Mahatma Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme) will now be called Viksit Bharat Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Grameen) -- an acronym that includes Ram.

The scheme introduced by the UPA government was initially expected to be renamed the "Pujya Bapu Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme" -- the news of which did not ruffle any feathers. But the bill presented in parliament today was called the Viksit Bharat Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Grameen), shortened to VB G RAM G.

What Congress Said

The change made the Congress see red, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge leading the charge. 

"Erasing Gandhi's name on the centenary of the Sangh shows how hollow and hypocritical those are who, like Modi ji, offer flowers to Bapu on foreign soil," Kharge said in a post on X. 

"The government that recoils from the rights of the poor is the one that attacks MGNREGA. The Congress Party will strongly oppose in Parliament and on the streets any such decision of this arrogant regime that is against the poor and workers," he added. 

Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned why they are "removing Mahatma Gandhi's name".

"He is considered the biggest Indian leader. Whenever such a name changes, a lot of expenditure happens in stationery and paperwork," she said. "I don't understand what the objective is. The Parliament is not functioning. We are not discussing pressing issues; time and public money are being wasted," she added.

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan said the BJP earlier had a problem with Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. "Now the country is watching that they have a problem with Bapu. You ensure timely payments to states under MGNREGA. You raise 100 to 150 days, and improve the scheme. It is a shame that the government is focused on just changing names," she told NDTV.

"Union govt's plan to rename MGNREGA. Removing Mahatma Gandhi's name. This is an insult to Gandhiji. But then are you surprised! These are the same people who hero worshipped the man who killed Mahatma Gandhi. They want to insult Gandhiji. We will never allow this to happen," Trinamool's Derek O'Brien posted on X.

The New Scheme

The MGNREGA is a centrally sponsored scheme in which the Centre bears 100 per cent of the wages of unskilled labour. States bear a fraction of the expenses.

The new Bill proposes that the Centre and most states will share the expenses in a 60:40 ratio. For the northeastern and Himalayan states the ratio will be 90:10 and 100 per cent for Union territories.