New Delhi: The political storm has intensified over the central government’s decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as the ‘Viksit Bharat-Employment and Livelihood Mission Guarantee (Rural) Bill’. On Wednesday, protesting under the banner of the ‘All India Unorganized Workers Congress’, Congress leader Udit Raj registered his protest by burning a copy of the new bill.
Launching a scathing attack on the central government, Udit Raj said that MGNREGA has been the world’s largest and most historic scheme for eradicating rural unemployment, and now a conspiracy is being hatched to dismantle it. He alleged that removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme is not only an attack on his legacy but also an attempt to snatch away the ‘legal right to employment’ of rural laborers.
Earlier, Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao criticized the central government for renaming MGNREGA. He said that this move reflects the ideological opposition of the BJP and RSS towards Mahatma Gandhi. During a protest against the decision in Belagavi, Rao said, “It is a well-known fact that the RSS and BJP dislike Mahatma Gandhi, which is reflected in their actions.”
Karnataka Congress leaders protested against the central government near the Gandhi statue at Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi. The protest was held against the National Herald case and the decision to rename MGNREGA to ‘VB-GRAM’. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar also participated in the protest.
During the protest, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that the National Herald is deeply connected to India’s freedom movement. Questioning the actions of central agencies, he said, “The National Herald is the pride of the country, founded by Jawaharlal Nehru during the freedom movement.” Shivakumar alleged that he has not yet been given a copy of the FIR and that such actions have “tarnished” the image of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Congress party had announced a nationwide protest on December 17, 2025, against this bill. The party accused the BJP and RSS of dismantling the “rights-based welfare system” and replacing it with a centrally controlled system of handouts. The party had instructed all its state units to hold demonstrations at district headquarters. Pictures of Mahatma Gandhi were used in these protests. What is ‘VB-GRAM’:
This bill, introduced by the Agriculture Minister in the Lok Sabha, guarantees 125 days of employment instead of the current 100 days for every rural household with adult members willing to perform unskilled manual labor.
According to Section 22 of the bill, the fund-sharing ratio between the central and state governments will be 60:40. However, for the northeastern states, Himalayan states, and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), this ratio will be 90:10.
Section 6 of the bill allows state governments to pre-notify a total period of 60 days in a financial year, which will include busy agricultural seasons such as sowing and harvesting. During this declared period, no work will be initiated or executed under this bill.
