Mahatma Gandhi not from my family but…: Priyanka on rural jobs bill

Priyanka Gandhi Parliament | File Image

Expressing extreme concern against Centre's new Bill to replace the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGS, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi categorically stated that no bill should be tabled and passed because of someone's obsession and prejudice."

Speaking in Lok Sabha, the Wayanad MP also said no law should be passed because of “someone’s obsession and prejudice”. The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 seeks to replace MGNREGA, which was implemented in 2006.

"The bill should not be passed in haste, without taking the advice of the House and without any discussion. This bill should be taken back and the government should table a new bill... Mahatma Gandhi was not from my family, but he was still like a member of my family. This is the emotion of the entire nation. This bill should be sent to Standing Committee for further deliberations. No bill should be tabled and passed because of someone's obsession and prejudice," the Wayanad MP remarked.

The VB-G RAM G bill aims at aligning rural employment and development with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. It guarantees 125 days of employment, not 100 days as under MGNREGA. According to a copy of the bill, it will provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.

Within six months from the date of commencement of the VB-G RAM G Act, states will have to make a scheme consistent with the provisions of the new law.

The financial liability would be shared between the Centre and the state governments. It would be 90:10 for the Northeastern states and Himalayan states, and 60:40 for all other states and Union territories with legislature. For the UTs without a legislature, the whole cost would be borne by the Centre. The MGNREGS is a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme.

MGNREGA was brought in 2005 by the then UPA government and guarantees 100 days of paid work in a year to every individual in rural areas. The scheme has been hailed as a game-changer for the rural economy over the past two decades.

The Wayanad MP pointed out that MGNREGA provides work based on demand, and the Centre's funding for the scheme is also demand-based. The new Bill, however, allows the Centre to decide the fund allocation beforehand. She also said that while MGNREGA empowered Gram Sabhas to assess the demand for work as per the situation on the ground, the new Bill weakens the role of Gram Sabhas. "The right to employment is being weakened, and this is against our Constitution."