Final Up to date:December 16, 2025, 23:35 IST
Two particular provisions of the ‘G RAM G’ Invoice, nevertheless, have grow to be main factors of rivalry: funding and work availability below the brand new rural employment scheme
A bitter political battle has erupted over the proposed ‘G RAM G’ Invoice, which seeks to switch the two-decade-old MGNREGA. (Picture: PTI/File)
Although the Centre has repeatedly stated the brand new proposed laws for rural employment is a special scheme, it has not stopped the opposition from calling it an try and “erase” the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi after whom the present one, MGNREGA, was named.
A bitter political battle has erupted over the proposed ‘G RAM G’ Invoice, or the Viksit Bharat – Assure for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Invoice, 2025, which seeks to switch the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi Nationwide Rural Employment Assure Act (MGNREGA). It has triggered a fierce back-and-forth between the ruling BJP and the opposition, with the Congress declaring that it’ll launch a nationwide protest in opposition to the choice to rename MGNREGA.
Chief of Opposition within the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a scathing assault on the Centre on social media, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi harbours a “deep hatred for two things – the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the rights of the poor”. Quickly after this, the BJP strongly countered his allegations, calling them “misleading” and “contradicted”, and stated the ‘G RAM G’ Invoice was a obligatory improve and modernisation of the agricultural employment framework.
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR FRICTION POINTS?
Two particular provisions of the Invoice, nevertheless, have grow to be main factors of rivalry: funding and work availability.
Underneath the brand new scheme, the fund-sharing sample between the Centre and states is about at 60:40. Rahul Gandhi attacked this transformation, noting that the muse of the unique scheme noticed the central authorities bearing the total value of wages, and alleged the brand new ratio forces states to bear 40 p.c of the bills.
The BJP defended the change, stating that this ratio incentivises accountability and prevents misuse, pointing to misappropriation below the previous system.
The second main rivalry is the 60-day pause provision. Part 6 of the Invoice permits state governments to inform a interval aggregating as much as 60 days when no work can be commenced throughout peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that this meant “no one will get work for two months” as soon as the price range is exhausted or throughout harvest season. In response, the BJP stated this aggregated pause truly advantages each farmers and employees by making certain obligatory labour availability throughout peaks, stopping synthetic wage inflation, and permitting employees to shift to higher-paying farm jobs seasonally, whereas assuring that the total 125 days are assured within the remaining interval.
WHAT DID RAHUL GANDHI, CONGRESS SAY?
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi stated the MGNREGA was a “living embodiment” of Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of village self-rule, and referred to as the brand new invoice an “insult” to his beliefs.
He alleged that the Centre initially weakened the scheme and is now “wiping it out completely”. He stated the Congress has promised to oppose this “anti-people bill”, with the social gathering directing state models to organise nationwide protests that includes portraits of Mahatma Gandhi to symbolise resistance in opposition to the “erasure of his name and values”.
“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 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… From Sadak to Sansad, we will oppose this anti-people bill,” stated Gandhi on X, whereas enumerating the elemental ideas of the MGNREGA and the way the Modi-led Centre desires to “transform it into a tool of centralised control”.
Different opposition leaders, together with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, stated the proposed laws will “weaken” the assured employment and shouldn’t be rushed by way of Parliament with out ample dialogue.
The Congress has stated the overhaul essentially shifts management from villages to the central authorities, abandoning the core tenets of the unique MGNREGA. Underneath the brand new Invoice, Rahul Gandhi stated, the Centre will unilaterally resolve the price range, schemes, and guidelines, successfully concentrating energy solely within the Prime Minister’s fingers.
WHAT DID THE BJP SAY?
The BJP, nevertheless, strongly rejected Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, positioning the ‘G RAM G’ Invoice as a obligatory improve and modernisation of the employment framework.
The social gathering’s IT cell head, Amit Malviya, dismissed the allegations as “misleading”, stressing that the Act is a major overhaul, not an erasure, designed to align the scheme with trendy rural realities and the ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ imaginative and prescient. The title change, he stated, displays alignment with nationwide growth targets relatively than disdain for Mahatma Gandhi.
“These claims (made by Rahul Gandhi) are misleading and contradicted by the facts of the new Act, which represents a significant upgrade to the 20-year-old MGNREGA framework, aligning it with modern rural realities and the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision,” Malviya wrote on X, giving a “claim versus reality” evaluation of the Invoice to counter Rahul Gandhi.
A key enhancement cited by the BJP is the rise in assured work days from 100 to 125 days of wage employment per rural family for grownup members. The BJP stated the Invoice is designed to strengthen decentralised planning, requiring gram panchayats to organize hyperlocal Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans on a saturation foundation, immediately contradicting claims of centralisation.
Malviya stated this new strategy focuses on creating sturdy infrastructure and property throughout 4 strategic verticals – in contrast to MGNREGA’s typically scattered initiatives – whereas incorporating safeguards like AI fraud detection, GPS monitoring, and twice-yearly social audits to sort out long-standing points like leakages and ghost works.
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First Revealed:
December 16, 2025, 23:23 IST
Information politics Erasing Gandhi’s Legacy Or Wanted Change? MGNREGA Renaming Sparks Rahul Vs BJP Row
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