LS nod to G RAM G Bill amid Oppn uproar

New Delhi: Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to replace the 20-year-old scheme MGNREGA amid tearing of papers by opposition members who accused the government of destroying the rural economy and ignoring the principles of Mahatma Gandhi.

In a spirited reply to the eight-hour discussion on the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (G RAM G) Bill, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed large-scale corruption in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

As opposition members tore papers and raised slogans, Chouhan argued that MGNREGA has outlived its utility and the focus of the government was now on creating permanent assets and developing model villages, instead of just paying wages.

Opposition members accused the government of trying to erase the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi by scrapping his name from the rural jobs scheme.

The minister said the G RAM G Bill was brought after extensive deliberations as it was felt that amount to the tune of Rs 10-11 lakh crore should be spent on initiatives such as water conservation, developing core rural and livelihood related infrastructure.

Later, addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Chouhan slammed the opposition for resorting to “hooliganism” in the Lok Sabha by tearing papers and standing on the desks in the House.

“Through their behaviour, the opposition disgraced democracy, tore parliamentary traditions to shreds and turned democracy into ‘bheedtantra’ (mobocracy) and ‘goondatantra’ (hooliganism),” he told reporters.

In the Lok Sabha, Congress member K C Venugopal had urged the chair to refer the G RAM G Bill to a parliamentary panel for close examination.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla turned down the request saying members, cutting across party lines, had debated the bill in detail for eight hours during the sitting of the House that stretched beyond midnight on Wednesday night.

Several opposition members took out a protest march inside the Parliament House complex against the G RAM G bill.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that there will be a nationwide movement against this “systematic murder of the world’s largest employment scheme”.

Behind a huge banner of ‘Mahatma Gandhi NREGA’, they marched from the Gandhi statue at Prerna Sthal to Makar Dwar, raising slogans against the government. “This is not merely a case of renaming MGNREGA; rather, it is the systematic murder of the world’s largest employment scheme,” Kharge said.

According to the bill, it will provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in a 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.

As opposition members raised slogans and tore copies of the Bill, Chouhan hit out at the Congress for “insulting” Mahatma Gandhi and “killing” his ideals time and again.

“The opposition is murdering Bapu’s ideals. I listened to the honourable members until 1:30 am at night. Just having your say and not listening to the views of others too is violence,” Chouhan said. The minister asserted that the Modi government was ensuring that the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi were upheld through various initiatives taken by it.

“Congress killed ideals of Bapu, NDA ensured Bapu lives through pucca houses built under the PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission, Ayushman Bharat,” Chouhan said listing out government schemes for welfare of the poor.

“Those in the opposition who cry in the name of Gandhi ji should remember that Gandhi ji also said now that freedom has been achieved, the Congress should be dissolved. In its place, a Lok Sevak Sangh should be formed. But Nehru ji did not dissolve Congress to cling to power and exploit the freedom movement,” Chouhan said.

The Lok Sabha passed the G RAM G Bill by a voice vote amid uproar by the opposition. The speaker adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day after the bill was passed.