Opposition leaders sleep outside Parliament in protest against VB–G RAM G Bill | Watch

Opposition MPs sat on a 12-hour dharna in the Parliament premises.

After the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, or VB-G RAM G Bill, which replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, was cleared in Rajya Sabha in the wee hours of Friday morning, Opposition parties staged an overnight dharna in the Parliament complex.

The Rajya Sabha passed the legislation after midnight by a voice vote even as opposition members demanded its withdrawal and sought its referral to a parliamentary panel.

Opposition MPs accused the government of rushing the Bill through without adequate debate.

Several members walked out of the Upper House, raised slogans against the government and tore copies of the Bill, prompting repeated warnings from the Chair.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose alleged that the government had “bulldozed” the legislation. “This is an insult to India's poor, it is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi, it is an insult to Rabindranath Tagore. With just five hours' notice, this bill was given to us. We were not allowed a proper debate,” she said.

Friday morning 2 am . @AITCofficial 12 hour dharna on the steps of Parliament in protest against the destruction of MNREGA by anti people @narendramodi govt pic.twitter.com/l0CP95iQUX

— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 18, 2025

She said the Opposition was going to sit on a 12-hour dharna against the manner in which the central government brought this “black law against the people of India, against the poor of India, against the rural poor of India”.

Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala also described the development as a “sad day for the country's labour force” and alleged that the government had hit the livelihoods of millions.

"This is perhaps the saddest day for the labourers of India. The BJP government has attacked the livelihood of 12 crore people by repealing the MGNREGA. They have proved that the Modi government is anti-farmer and anti-poor," he said.

During the Rajya Sabha debate,  Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge launched a sharp attack on the proposed programme, saying it will ruin the poor and requesting the government to withdraw the law. "Don't have "Ram" on your lips and a dagger in your hand! You keep saying "Ram Ram" for the poor, but you have a dagger hidden behind your back," he said.