Don't understand obsession with changing names: Priyanka on 'G RaM G' row

Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the VB-G RaM G Bill weakened the right to income guaranteed under MGNREGA and also drew attention to persistent delays in wage payments under the existing scheme

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday criticised the Centre's "obsession with changing names", saying the Bill to replace Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was being advanced due to “personal obsession” or “bias”.

 

The Wayanad MP was speaking in Lok Sabha after the Viksit Bharat Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, also known as the VB-G Ram G Bill, was tabled in the Lower House. According to Priyanka Gandhi, the proposed legislation diluted MGNREGA and undermined its assured 100 days of employment.

 

“I do not understand this obsession with changing names. This new Bill will weaken the right to income for at least 100 days. Wherever you go, MGNREGA workers will tell you that they have not received their wages,” Priyanka Gandhi said. 

 

Earlier in the day, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha. The proposed legislation aims to repeal and replace the MGNREGA, a UPA-era legislation that guaranteed employment in rural areas.

 

Mahatma Gandhi 'emotion of entire nation': Priyanka Gandhi

 

Priyanka Gandhi emphasised that no law should be hurried through Parliament without proper consultation or debate. Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, she said the legislation carried strong emotional and national importance.

 

“Although Mahatma Gandhi was not personally related to me, he was like family. This is the emotion of the entire nation. This Bill should be referred to the Standing Committee for detailed examination. No legislation should be pushed through merely due to personal obsession or bias,” she said.

 

Govt's mania for changing names: Priyanka Gandhi

 

Speaking to reporters later, the Congress MP said the move reflected the government’s fixation on renaming schemes. “In my opinion, it is just their mania for changing names. Whenever the government plans to change a name, it costs a fortune. This scheme is named after Mahatma Gandhi ji. He is the Father of the Nation and should not be insulted,” she said.

 

She also shared a video of her interaction with the media on X, alleging that the Bill sought to take away the legal guarantee of employment from millions of workers. 

 

“The BJP government, by introducing a Bill to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, seeks to strip millions of labourers across the country of their legal guarantee to employment. The Bill is against workers, village assemblies and village panchayats. It should be withdrawn immediately,” she wrote in her post.  

How VB-G RaM G is different from MGNREGA

 

According to the government, the new Bill guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work. It aims to provide income security while creating durable and productivity-enhancing rural assets through a nationally coordinated development strategy.