Debate On G RAM G Bill Begins, Minister Says It Will Fulfil Gandhi's Dream

A Bill replacing the 20-year-old MNREGA and seeking to guarantee rural jobs for 125 days every year came up for discussion in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserting that the measure will not only ensure employment but also fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's dream of making villages self-reliant.

Moving the Bill for consideration and passage, Chouhan, the Union Rural Development Minister, said the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill will ensure all-around development of villages and make them poverty-free, fuelling their growth journey.

Participating in the debate, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the government over the VB-G RAM G Bill, saying it is destroying Mahatma Gandhi's idea of Ram Rajya both in letter and spirit by repealing MGNREGA and renaming the scheme.

She also accused the government of "dishonouring" both Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, who gave the title of Mahatma to the Father of the Nation, by renaming MGNREGA.

Participating in the debate, Moitra took a swipe at the government and said this Bill has shown that the government believes in "Na kisi ka saath, na kisi ka vikas, na Rahim ka, na Ram ka".

Opposing the renaming and the replacement of the MGNREGA by the VB-G RAM G bill, she said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) revolutionised rural India's idea of livelihood security.

At the outset, Speaker Om Birla said while the debate will take place on Wednesday, the minister will reply on Thursday before the Bill comes up for passage.

Initiating the debate, Jai Prakash (Congress) lamented that the name of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was removed from the Bill, which was "the biggest crime".

He said the proposed law will create fresh financial abilities for the states and deprive grassroots-level bodies like the gram sabhas of their rights to decide on work to be undertaken under the draft law.

The Hisar MP said the proposed law is "anti-poor" and "anti-Dalit" as it has been drafted by the government which is "pro-rich".

Introducing the Bill in the Lower House on Tuesday, Chouhan said the government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles.

According to the Bill, it will provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.

Within six months from the date of commencement of the VB-G RAM G Act, states will have to make a scheme consistent with the provisions of the new law.

Brijmohan Agarwal, the first one to speak from the BJP, said the previous Congress government had turned MNREGA into a "dig the pit and cover the pit" scheme.

He claimed that while the scheme had not helped strengthen the rural economy, it led to large-scale corruption.

Agarwal said with the proposed law having "Ram" in it, people will be wary of indulging in corruption. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)