"Modiji Has Hatred For 2 Things": Rahul Gandhi's Latest Jab In G Ram G Row

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has hit out at the ruling BJP over the G RAM G bill – the rural employment guarantee scheme to replace the MGNREGA enacted in 2005 by the party-led UPA administration.

Gandhi called the G RAM G bill an 'insult to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi' and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of trying to eliminate the secure livelihood of the rural poor after destroying the future of India's youth through severe unemployment.

In a post on X Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, alleged that PM Modi had always opposed the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and had been trying to weaken the scheme in his name since 2014. The Congress will oppose any such move, he asserted.

"Modiji has a deep hatred for two things - the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the rights of the poor. MGNREGA is a living embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi's dream of village self-rule. It is a lifeline for millions of rural lives and proved to be their economic shield during COVID," he said.

"But Prime Minister Modi has always been irritated by this scheme, and for the past 10 years, he has been trying to weaken it. Today, he is determined to wipe out MGNREGA completely."

Modi ji has a deep dislike for two things - the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the rights of the poor.

MGNREGA is the living embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj. It has been a lifeline for millions of rural Indians and proved to be a crucial economic safety net…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 16, 2025

The G RAM G bill – full name is the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 – was introduced in the Lok Sabha this afternoon.

Several opposition MPs protested, including Rahul Gandhi's sister, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and senior party leader Shashi Tharoor, raising several strong objections, including removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme.

READ | "Mahatma Not From My Family, But...": Priyanka Gandhi Leads G Ram G Protest

Rahul Gandhi said MGNREGA was based on the right to employment, freedom for villages to decide their own development works, as well as the centre paying for the wages and 75 per cent of materials.

READ | "Immoral To Remove Gandhi": Tharoor Bats For Congress In G Ram G Row

"Now, Prime Minister Modi wants to change this… to concentrate all power solely in his own hands. The centre will decide the budget, schemes, and rules; states will be forced to bear 40 per cent of the expenses, and as soon as the budget is exhausted or during the crop harvest season, no one will get work for two months."

MGNREGA vs G RAM G

In essence, the former is sponsored by the central government. That means 100 per cent of the wages paid to unskilled workers are from its pocket. States bear a fraction of total expenses.

Differences between the old and new rural employment guarantee schemes.

The G RAM G bill changes that funding structure, requiring states to bear 40 per cent of the overall costs, and opposition leaders, including those from a key BJP ally – Andhra Pradesh's ruling Telugu Desam Party – have objected to this, citing increased burden on state finances.

READ | On G Ram G Over MGNREGA Bill, Congress Asks "Problem With Bapu?"

The ratio for northeastern and Himalayan states, however, will be 90:10, while union territories will be funded completely by the central government This means that out of the total proposed expenditure - an estimated Rs 1.51 lakh crore annually -  the Modi governemnt will now fund only Rs 95,692 crore.

However, sources in the government told NDTV the G RAM G bill is, in fact, aligned with the larger 'Viksit Bharat 2047' vision, as is the shift to normative funding from a demand-based model, which means it will now aligns with the budgeting model used for most central government schemes.