New Delhi, Dec 16 || The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp protests on Tuesday as the government introduced the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, aimed at replacing the iconic Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor led the opposition charge, terming the bill a "deeply regrettable and retrograde step" that undermines the welfare of India's most vulnerable rural citizens.
He strongly objected to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name, describing it not as a mere administrative change but an assault on the program's philosophical core.
Tharoor invoked Gandhi's vision of Ram Rajya and Gram Swaraj, emphasising village empowerment and prioritising the "last person first."
The original 2005 Act, he argued, drew moral legitimacy from Gandhi's ideals of grassroots upliftment through guaranteed employment.