'G Ram G' Bill, To Replace MGNREGA, Clears Parliament Amid Opposition Walkout

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Bill, dubbed G RAM G  --- meant to be an updated version of UPA government's flagship MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act) was pushed through parliament within two days amid massive turbulence and bitter protests in both houses. 

The bill had made it through the Lok Sabha despite protests and walkouts on Thursday afternoon. The debate in Rajya Sabha went on post-midnight and around 12.15 am, the voting was held and the bill was passed by voice vote. 

Despite the outrage of the Congress, which has been protesting over the switch in name from Mahatma Gandhi to G Ram G, the outcome was not in doubt given the numbers. Still, the Opposition out up a strong fight, initially demanding that the bill be referred to a standing Committee. Later, they called for an outright withdrawal of the bill. In the end, they walked and bill was passed in both houses in presence of the members of the ruling alliance. 

Later the MPs from Trinamool Congress and other Opposition parties sat on dharna in Parliament.

The bitter debate in Rajya Sabha saw Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge launching a sharp attack on the proposed programme, saying it will ruin the poor and requesting the government to withdraw the law. "Don't have "Ram" on your lips and a dagger in your hand! You keep saying "Ram Ram" for the poor, but you have a dagger hidden behind your back," he said.

Addressing Minister of Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan who piloted the bill through both houses, he said: "Chauhan ji, think again. There is still time to withdraw the law. There is still time".

Declaring that "many laws have been withdrawn by the government" without it suffering any setback, he said, "Did the government suffer any setback? You withdrew three black laws related to agriculture. If you withdraw this law, you will become a hero. You will become "Mama-ji" instead of just "Mama"."

The 83-year-old ended his address with a fervent supplication. "My mother passed away in my childhood when I was 6-7 years old. I swear on her - this law is not good for the poor. I swear on my mother, I swear on Mother India, this law is not good for the poor," he said. 

Others in the Opposition were equally vociferous. 

"At 1:07 PM today, you passed the G RAM G Bill in Lok Sabha. At 1:11 pm today, something happened. This government stopped MGNREGA scheme in West Bengal. The West Bengal government had started its own Karmashree Scheme to provide employment to job card holders. This year every job card holder got 75 days of work. Next year it will be 100 days of work. Today at 1:09 pm, the Chief Minister of West Bengal changed the name of her Karmashree scheme to and named it the Mahatmashree Scheme," said Trinamool Congress's Derek O'Brien.

When Union minister Shivraj Chouhan finally rose to respond, the Opposition started a ruckus, raising slogans of "Withdraw the black bill" . When that did not stop him from speaking, they walked out.

Angry, Singh Chouhan said, "I listened carefully to all the Opposition MPs. But to speak, make accusations, and then run away - this is also a betrayal of Bapu's ideals. Not allowing a response is also violence. I expected Kharge to speak with some seriousness today. Who will work with them? The Congress sinks whoever it associates with." 

Countering the allegations, Chouhan accused the Congress of "killing" Mahatma Gandhi's ideals. MGNREGA, he said, was nothing but a tool of corruption and stressed that the new law has been brought after discussions with stakeholders.

Defending the new bill, Chouhan said, "Bapu is our ideal, our inspiration. We have tried to incorporate Mahatma Gandhi's social ideas. The Congress had not included Mahatma Gandhi's name in NREGA initially.  Only when the elections came in 2009 did they add Mahatma Gandhi's name."

The government has repeatedly underscored that an updation was essential to fix shortcomings in the 20-year-old scheme and help it move with the times. 

The Opposition's Objections

Since the bill was greenlighted by the Union cabinet, the Congress has questioned the government's motivations in replacing Mahatma Gandhi's name with that of Lord Ram. Multiple leaders have declared that it was the government's intention to obliterate the name of Mahtama Gandhi from history. 

Others have questioned the provisions of the new bill, declaring that it wipes clean the "soul and spirit" of the flagship social welfare programme introduced by the UPA government in 2005. 

The new bill, P Chidambaram had told NDTV, kills all three aspects of the original objective.  "It kills the guarantee.  It kills livelihood. It kills the security.  Why do you call it a guarantee ingrained bill?  There is no guarantee. It doesn't assure livelihood for the rural poor.  It has no security at all at the end of the day".

What Makes G RAM G Different

Under MGNREGA, the government guaranteed 100 days of work in rural areas and even paid unemployment allowance in case there was no work. The new law would raise the 100-day guarantee to 125, keeping the other two rules untouched. 

But under it, employment is meant to be generated through pre-approved plans, which, critics say, shifts the focus of the programme away from people's needs. Earlier, workers could apply to gram panchayats if they needed work, now they will get work only if there is any.

The new law divides work into four categories -- water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related assets, and climate resilience. Critics have said that this curtails the scope of the work, which was earlier decided by panchayats according to local needs.