PM suffering from 'acronym-itis': Congress after passage of G RAM G Bill

A day after Parliament passed the VB-G RAM G Bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA, the Congress on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he is suffering from a "case of acute acronym-itis".

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posted on X a cartoon representation on X which read: "All new ACRONYM MANTRALAYA - Administrative Commission for Renaming Old Schemes -- New Yet Meaningless".

"The PM is suffering from a case of acute acronym-itis," Ramesh said in his post accompanying the cartoon.

His dig came a day after the passage of two bills in Parliament with catchy acronyms -- Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill and the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill.

The VB-G RAM G Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it on Thursday, amid strong protests by the opposition over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the existing rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA.

The opposition accused the government of putting the financial burden on states. Several members of the opposition staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the Bill after demanding its withdrawal and raising slogans against the government.

They also tore pages of the Bill, with Chairman C P Radhakrishnan warning them not to go towards the treasury benches.

Several opposition MPs later sat on an overnight dharna outside the Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex against the Bill.