The Lok Sabha passed a bill that aims to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA with a new initiative guaranteeing rural jobs for 125 days each year. This decision came amid loud protests from the Opposition.
Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addressed the eight-hour discussion on the Viksit Bharat Guarantee. It discuss about Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill. He claimed the Modi government is upholding the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi through various initiatives.
Why rural job bills replace MGNREGA
“Congress killed Bapu’s ideals; the NDA ensures Bapu lives through Pucca houses built under the PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission, and Ayushman Bharat,” Chouhan said.
Opposition members crowded the well of the House. They shouted slogans against the government for removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the rural jobs initiative and tore copies of the G RAM G Bill, throwing them towards the chair.
Bill Give 125 Rural Job Guarantee
The Lok Sabha passed the G RAM G Bill by voice vote despite the uproar from the Opposition. The speaker adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day after the bill’s passage. After the vote, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who strongly opposed the bill, said that the new legislation would completely end the rural employment guarantee scheme.
She also emphasized that the Opposition stands united on this issue and will vigorously resist the government’s action. “We will oppose this bill strongly. All parties are unanimously against it. This bill will finish off MGNREGA. No matter how you look at it, the increase in workdays from 100 to 125 is a deception. Anyone who reads the bill carefully will understand that this scheme will be over in the coming days,” she told the press.
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