‘Bid to kill MGNREGA’: Priyanka, Rahul attack government over renaming scheme; flags 3 changes | India News
“That decision is taken at the panchayat level by the gram pradhan.”
“Now what will happen? These decisions will be made at the Centre. People sitting in Delhi will decide.”
“The powers given to panchayats under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, under the Panchayati Raj system, will be taken away.”
Several opposition MPs staged a demonstration outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar and later gathered near the Mahatma Gandhi statue within the Parliament compound. Holding photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and accused the Centre of attempting to dismantle the rural employment scheme under the guise of renaming it. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other senior opposition leaders were present during the protest.
Earlier in the day, Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan sought permission in the Lok Sabha to introduce the Viksit Bharat Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, also known as the G RAM G Bill, which seeks to replace MGNREGA.
The proposed Bill guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work. The government has said the new framework aims to provide income security while creating durable and productivity-enhancing rural assets through a nationally coordinated development strategy.
Rahul Gandhi backs Priyanka, says new Bill aims to erase MGNREGA
Backing the protest led by Priyanka Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Centre’s proposed changes to MGNREGA were aimed at dismantling the scheme and undermining Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals.In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Modi ji has a deep dislike for two things – the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the rights of the poor.”Calling MGNREGA “the living embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj”, Rahul Gandhi said the scheme had been a lifeline for millions of rural Indians and a crucial economic safety net during the Covid pandemic.
“Yet, this scheme has always unsettled PM Modi. For the past ten years, his government has systematically tried to weaken it. Today, he is determined to erase MGNREGA altogether,” he said.Rahul Gandhi said MGNREGA was built on three core principles:
“Right to employment – anyone who demands work must be provided employment; Autonomy for villages to decide their own development works; Full wage support by the Central Government and 75% of material costs.”He alleged that the new Bill would fundamentally alter these principles. “Now, Modi ji wants to transform MGNREGA into a tool of centralised control,” he said, adding that “Budgets, schemes, and rules will be dictated by the Centre”, while “States will be forced to bear 40% of the costs”.He further warned that under the new framework, “Once funds run out, or during harvest season, workers will be denied employment for months”.Terming the proposed legislation “a direct insult to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi”, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of targeting rural livelihoods after failing to address unemployment.“After destroying the future of India’s youth through massive unemployment, the Modi Government is now targeting the secure livelihood of poor rural families,” he said, adding, “From Sadak to Sansad, we will oppose this anti-people bill.”
