Opposition MPs protest in the Lok Sabha as Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan introduces the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 on December 17, 2025. Photo: Sansad TV via ANI
The Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Viksit Bharat Guarantee Act, 2025, which seeks to repeal Mahatma Gandhi’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has faced opposition both in and outside Parliament, even as the bill has begun debate in the Lok Sabha.
Ignoring the opposition’s demands, the government has expressed its intention to pass the bill in the ongoing session of parliament, which ends on Friday (December 19, 2025).
The opposition in Parliament and outside activists criticized the new legislation for changing the demand-driven architecture of MGNREGA, removing its universality, centralizing decision-making and increasing the financial burden on state governments.
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Both the JD(U) and the LJP (RV) unreservedly supported the new legislation, while the TDP termed the increased burden on the state government. TDP level leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said that Andhra Pradesh is a revenue deficient state. “As we have to cough up 40% from the state to fund this scheme, we request that the same amount of support that has been extended for the last one and a half years be continued to enable the scheme to be implemented well,” he said.
DMK’s K. Kanimozhi pointed out that while the state government’s share of central taxes was shrinking, the financial burden on the states was increasing. The new legislation split the expenditure on the rural employment scheme between the Center and the state in the ratio of 60:40, as opposed to 90:10 under MGNREGA. Only a few states still maintain the 90:10 ratio. She also objected to the Hindi nomenclature of the Act. “This is not a ‘Viksit Bharat’ Bill but a ‘concerned’ Bill,” she said, questioning why the Center had not named any legislation in languages other than Hindi and Sanskrit. She spoke mostly Tamil.
TMC’s Mahua Moitra said the word ‘guarantee’ appeared 92 times in the bill but if the fine print was read, it did not guarantee anything as the Center has to fix the budget and also highlight the areas where the scheme will be implemented. She and other TMC speakers said removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme was an insult to the father of the nation as well as Rabindranath Tagore, who first coined the title “Mahatma”.
Congress’s Kodikunnil Suresh said the proposed legislation was anti-women, pointing out that in states like Kerala, women constitute 90% of the MGNREGA workforce. “Many of these women are the sole breadwinners of their families,” he said.
The debate lasted until Wednesday (December 17) at 10:00 p.m. Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will respond to the debate on Thursday (December 18).
At the Press Club of India, just a few meters away from Parliament, the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha held a press conference. CPI leader Annie Raja recalled the extensive consultation behind the 2005 law. “MGNREGA was bottom-up; this law imposes a top-down approach. The center will decide where and when work will be done,” she said, adding that shifts could be extended to 12 hours. Economist Jayati Ghosh said the bill changed entitlements to “gifts from the state”, citing trends such as ration bags and vaccination certificates bearing the prime minister’s photo. “This undermines citizenship and hurts an economy that is already facing weak demand,” she said.
Economist Jean Drèze, who pointed out the centralization of decision-making powers, said: “The center would have full power when and where to implement the scheme, while the onus is on the states. It’s like saying I’m giving a job guarantee but not guaranteeing the guarantee will be in place.”
Activist and politician Yogendra Yadav announced nationwide protests from 19 December.
Published – 17 Dec 2025 22:33 IST
