NEW DELHI: High drama unfolded in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday during the passage of the VB-G RAM G Bill, which seeks to replace the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).The bill, short for Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), was passed after an eight-hour debate. However, the opposition put forth a sharp protest demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to a standing committee.As Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan began his speech following the bill’s passage, opposition members disrupted proceedings, accusing the government of removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from a landmark rural employment programme. Several MPs rushed to the well of the House and tore copies of the bill, flinging the pieces in the air in protest.Intervening amid the uproar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the bill had been discussed at length and followed due parliamentary procedure. He intervened and reminded them, “The people have not sent you here to tear paper. The nation is watching you.”Speaking in support of the Bill, minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched a sharp attack on the Congress, saying the party had a history of naming laws after Jawaharlal Nehru and was now objecting to the NDA government’s approach. Chouhan also responded to Priyanka Gandhi’s charge that the Centre has a “craze” for renaming schemes, asserting that the Modi government was focused on governance and outcomes rather than nomenclature.Chouhan also criticised MGNREGA, describing it as a mechanism riddled with corruption, and said the proposed legislation was framed after consultations with various stakeholders.Despite the disruptions, the legislation was cleared by the House and is now set to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha for consideration.
