A week back, BJP leaders were mocking Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, as "videsh nayak" for his overseas trip during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. The absence of the Leader of the Opposition may have left the BJP with an equally formidable adversary to tackle.
In the absence of her brother, who is in Germany to attend an event of the Indian Overseas Congress, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a first-time MP, is leading her party in the Lok Sabha.
The Wayanad MP, whose takedown of the government during the Vande Mataram debate had gone viral, hit the ground running. As Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan introduced the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), also known as G Ram G Bill, to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Priyanka Gandhi mounted a scathing attack.
How Priyanka Challenged G Ram G
"MGNREGA has been successful in providing livelihood to rural India and strengthening the rural economy for 20 years. This is such a revolutionary law that when it was brought, all political parties in parliament supported it. This provides 100 days of employment in a year to the poorest of the poor in this country," she said.
She said that MGNREGA provides work based on demand, and the Centre's funding for the scheme is also demand-based. The new Bill, however, allows the Centre to decide the fund allocation beforehand. She also said that while MGNREGA empowered Gram Sabhas to assess the demand for work as per the situation on the ground, the new Bill weakens the role of Gram Sabhas. "The right to employment is being weakened, and this is against our Constitution."
Priyanka Gandhi pointed out that the Centre's contribution to the scheme's funding has been reduced to 60 per cent for most states. "This will impact states' economy when they are already waiting for GST dues from the Centre," she said.
'Mahatma Gandhi Not From My Family'
The elder Gandhi sibling is a quick thinker and smoothly counters the BJP's political attacks. As she was challenging the G Ram G Bill yesterday and questioning why Mahatma Gandhi's name has been removed from the law, someone from the treasury benches made a "family" remark. "Mahatma Gandhi is not from my family, but he is like my family member, and the entire country feels the same way," Priyanka replied.
She also questioned the "craze" to change the name of every scheme and pointed out that the Centre incurs a cost every time such steps are taken. "Bill should not be passed in haste without discussion and without taking the advice of this House. This Bill must be withdrawn, and the government should bring a new Bill," she said, adding that no law should be passed based on someone's "whim, ambition and prejudice".
Action Both Inside And Outside House
As the opposition walked out of the Lok Sabha to register their protest against the Bill, Priyanka Gandhi was at the forefront. Holding a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi, she marched on Parliament premises, raising slogans against the Bill.
Despite the absence of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress made headlines for its strong protest against the Bill both inside and outside the House.
Priyanka Gandhi's strong speech during the Vande Mataram debate, during which she dared the BJP to organise a discussion on complaints against Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and close the chapter "once and for all," had drawn praise even from the Congress's critics. And now her stellar leadership, despite being an MP for just a year, had established her as a top leader of the Congress.
