New Delhi: The government came under sharp attack in Parliament over its proposal to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace it with a new Rural Employment Act, with opposition MPs questioning the removal of the name of the Father of the Nation.
The proposed Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAM G) Bill, 2025 has been included in the Supplementary List of Business of the Lok Sabha released on Monday.
The Bill seeks to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 and establish what the government described as a rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Under the proposed law, every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work will be entitled to a legal guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in each financial year.
Opposition members said the move amounted to diluting a landmark social security legislation and objected to dropping Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme.
They asked why the government was changing the identity of a programme that has been a lifeline for rural households for nearly two decades.
The government is yet to respond in detail to the objections raised during the initial reactions to the Bill.
