Opposition Stages Overnight Dharna Against VB-G RAM G Bill Replacing MGNREGA
INDIA bloc alleges ‘anti-poor’ move as VB–G RAM G Bill is passed after midnight in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, Dec 19: Opposition parties staged a 12-hour overnight dharna inside the Parliament complex to protest the passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, which seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The sit in began in the intervening night of December 18 and 19 after the Rajya Sabha adjourned following the Bill’s passage shortly after midnight and is scheduled to continue till noon on Friday, according to Trinamool Congress sources. Opposition leaders said the protest would be followed by nationwide street demonstrations.
Members of Parliament from the Trinamool Congress and other INDIA bloc parties gathered at the steps of the old Parliament building before moving to the Prerna Sthal, holding placards and raising slogans through the night. Posters reading “Don’t kill MGNREGA like you killed Gandhi ji” were prominently displayed during the protest.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose accused the Centre of forcing the legislation through Parliament without adequate debate. She alleged that the Bill was circulated to MPs with barely five hours’ notice and was passed through a voice vote amid sustained opposition protests.
Ghose described the legislation as “anti-poor, anti-people, anti-farmer and anti-rural poor”, alleging that it effectively dismantles MGNREGA. The Opposition, she said, had demanded that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee for wider consultation, a request that was ignored. Calling the law a “black law”, Ghose said the overnight dharna was meant to register strong resistance to what she termed an assault on parliamentary democracy.
“This is an insult to India’s poor, an insult to Mahatma Gandhi and an insult to Rabindranath Tagore,” she said.
Opposition MPs also raised objections to key changes proposed under the new law. Under the VB–G RAM G Bill, states would be required to bear 40 per cent of the wage cost, compared to no state contribution under MGNREGA. Leaders from several states warned that the shift would impose a heavy financial burden on state governments and weaken the scheme’s effectiveness. They also flagged concerns over a proposed 60-day pause in work during harvest seasons, arguing that it would deprive rural workers of a vital safety net.
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the Bill’s passage a “sad day” for the country’s labourers, alleging that the livelihoods of nearly 12 crore people were at risk. Congress leader Mukul Wasnik said MGNREGA had been framed after extensive consultations and passed with broad parliamentary consensus, warning that shifting financial responsibility to states could render the new scheme unsustainable.
DMK leader Tiruchi Siva also criticised the move, alleging a symbolic erasure of Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy. He pointed to earlier relocation of statues of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar within the Parliament complex and said removing Gandhi’s name from a flagship rural employment programme had intensified Opposition anger.
The government, however, defended the legislation, describing it as a modern overhaul of the rural employment framework. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the new law increases guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days and aligns with Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj by focusing on durable asset creation and the use of technology to curb corruption.
