Congress Mocks Modi Over 'Acute Acronym-itis' After VB-G RAM G Bill Passage

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

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a cartoon on X depicting what he described as the government’s obsession with acronyms. The cartoon read: "All new A.C.R.O.N.Y.M 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 remarks came a day after Parliament passed two Bills with catchy acronyms — the 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 cleared by the Rajya Sabha through a voice vote, hours after it was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday, amid strong opposition protests over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the existing rural employment guarantee scheme, MGNREGA.

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

Some members also tore pages of the Bill, prompting Chairman C P Radhakrishnan to warn them against moving towards the treasury benches.

Later, several opposition MPs staged an overnight dharna outside the Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex in protest against the Bill.