Rajya Sabha Passes Rural Jobs Bill Amid Opposition Protests

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha passed the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill in the early hours of Friday after it had earlier been cleared by the Lok Sabha, amid strong protests by the Opposition.

Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan defended the legislation, saying it was necessary to address shortcomings in the existing rural employment guarantee scheme. He accused the Congress of repeatedly invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals for political gain while having undermined them in the past.

The Opposition protested the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and alleged that the new law shifts the financial burden onto states.

Several Opposition members staged a walkout during the passage of the Bill, demanding its withdrawal and raising slogans against the government. Later, Opposition parties sat on a dharna outside Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex, announcing plans for a nationwide agitation. Trinamool Congress MPs also held a 12-hour dharna on the steps of Samvidhan Sadan.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Modi government, accusing it of dismantling two decades of MGNREGA through the new legislation. Calling the VB-G RAM G law “anti-village”, he said it was not a revamp of MGNREGA but a dilution of a rights-based, demand-driven programme.

In a post on X, Gandhi said the new law centralises control in New Delhi, weakens states, and erodes the bargaining power of rural workers. He said MGNREGA had reduced exploitation and distress migration, increased wages, and improved working conditions while creating rural infrastructure.

Gandhi said the scheme proved critical during the Covid-19 pandemic by preventing millions from falling into hunger and debt, and noted that women accounted for more than half of the person-days generated under the programme.

He warned that rationing a jobs programme would disproportionately hurt women, Dalits, Adivasis, landless labourers and poor OBC communities. Gandhi also criticised the government for pushing the Bill through Parliament without adequate scrutiny, saying the Opposition’s demand to refer it to a standing committee was rejected.