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‘Ram ka naam badnaam mat karo': Shashi Tharoor on G RAM G Bill replacing MGNREGA
Shashi Tharoor called the decision to remove Mahatma Gandhi's name from the MGNREGA scheme ‘ill-advised’.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday attacked the government on the proposed replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill 2025, also known as VB-G RAM G Bill, calling it a “deeply regrettable and retrograde step”.
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Speaking against the introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor objected to the “ill-advised decision” of removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from MGNREGA.
“My first objection is the ill-advised decision to remove the name of the father of the nation for reasons already given. But it is not just an administrative tweak, it is an assault on the spirit and philosophical foundation of the rural employment program,” he told the parliament.
Speaking on Mahatma Gandhi's vision of “Ram Rajya”, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said it was never just a “political program" but a “socio-economic blueprint”.
“Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Ram Rajya was never a purely political program, but a socio-economic blueprint rooted in the empowerment of villages and his unwavering faith in Gram Swaraj was part of his vision of Ram Rajya,” he said.
Shashi Tharoor said that the original inclusion of Mahatma Gandhi’s name in the MGNREGA scheme was an “acknowledgement” of the “profound connection”.
“To remove the name Mahatma Gandhi is to strip the bill of its moral compass and historical legitimacy. And then to use two languages in the name of the bill, just to make the acronym G RAM G, is not just a violation of Article 348, but it also reminds me of a song from my childhood,” he said, going on to sing “Ram ka Naam badnaam mat karo”.
The G-RAM-G bill
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Tuesday moved in Lok Sabha to introduce the VB-G RAM G Bill, seeking to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA.
According to a copy of 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.
In a statement, the Rural Development Ministry said the proposed legislation will establish a modern statutory framework aligned with the goal of 'Viksit Bharat 2047'.
It stated that the Bill aims to create both employment and durable rural infrastructure through four priority verticals: water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works to mitigate extreme weather events.
All assets created are aggregated into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, ensuring a unified, coordinated national development strategy, the statement said.
The ministry described it as a "major upgrade" over MGNREGA, addressing structural weaknesses while enhancing employment, transparency, planning, and accountability.
