Lok Sabha Clears Viksit Bharat Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Bill Amid Opposition Uproar Over Name

The Lower House of the Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat- Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 on Thursday. The bill seeks to replace the decades-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The legislation, called the VB-G Ram G Bill, proposes to overhaul the Indian rural employment scheme by widening the scope of guaranteed wage employment from 100 days to 125 days per rural household every year. The government said the Bill is designed to strengthen income security while also creating durable, productivity-enhancing assets in its rural areas through a more centrally coordinated policy framework.

Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan presented the Bill and stated that it honours Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. The Bill will now move to Rajya Sabha amid criticism from the Opposition on both the intent and its potential impact on the welfare programme. "We live for the ideals of Gandhi ji. This Bill is based on the concept of Bapu ji and is in accordance with our ‘Pancha Prana’, Chouhan said.

However, the Bill faced harsh criticism from the Opposition, with Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leading the charge against the “dilution of MGNREGA’s foundational guarantees,” reports said. Gandhi argued that the proposed law would weaken the original employment guarantee and should not be rushed through the House without wider consultation. She also accused the Centre for pushing the Bill on grounds of “personal obsession” or “bias” and urged the Bill be scrutinized by the Standing Committee.

“I don’t understand this thing about changing names. This new Bill will weaken the right to income for at least 100 days. Wherever you go, MNREGA employees will tell you that they have not received their wages,” Gandhi added. She also highlighted the persistent issues with wage payments under the existing framework, cautioning that the change in nomenclature of schemes will not address the implementation gaps.

The Congress leadership has called for a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on December 27 to discuss the VB-G RAM G Bill.