Shashi Tharoor opposed the VB-G RAM G Bill in Lok Sabha, criticising the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name and invoking a Bollywood lyric to mock the move.
He said renaming and restructuring MGNREGA undermines its moral foundation, threatens poorer states by shifting 40% of costs to them, and weakens fiscal federalism.
The opposition staged protests demanding the bill be sent to a parliamentary committee, while the Centre defended it as aligned with “Viksit Bharat 2047”.
Recalling the popular Bollywood song "Dekho o deewano (tum) ye kaam na karo, Ram ka naam badnaam na karo" from 1971, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a jab at the BJP-led Centre on Tuesday while rejecting the VB-G RAM G Bill in the Lok Sabha.
The bill, according to the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is a "assault on the very spirit and philosophical foundation of this crucial program" rather than just an administrative ploy.
The opposition fiercely objected to the "removal" of Gandhi's name from the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, which aims to replace the current rural employment law Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan introduced the bill and stated that the Centre upholds Gandhi's values in addition to believing in him. "The (Narendra) Modi government has done more for rural development than previous governments," he stated.
At the introduction stage, opposition members opposed the proposed legislation and demanded that it be sent to a parliamentary subcommittee for closer examination. The "removal" of Gandhi's name was fiercely opposed by the MPs, especially Congresswoman Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The VB-G RAM G Bill, according to Tharoor, is a "deeply regrettable and retrograde step" for the nation and its dedication to the well-being of its most vulnerable individuals.
"My first objection, as with others, is the ill-advised decision to remove the name of the Father of the Nation, for the reasons already stated, which I will not repeat. But this is not merely an administrative tweak, it is an assault on the very spirit and philosophical foundation of this crucial programme," he said.
Asserting that Gandhi's vision of Ram Rajya was never a purely political project, the former Union minister said it was a socio-economic blueprint rooted in the empowerment of villages, and his unwavering faith in Gram Swaraj was part of his vision of Ram Rajya.
"The original Act, by bearing his name, acknowledged this profound connection -- that true employment guarantee and upliftment must flow from the grassroots, embodying his principle of the last person first. To remove the name of Mahatma Gandhi is to strip the bill of its moral compass and historical legitimacy," Tharoor said.
"Then to have two languages in the title just to make the acronym G RAM G is not just a violation of Article 348, as pointed out in the previous discussion, but it also reminds me of a song from my childhood -- 'Dekho o deewano (tum) ye kaam na karo, Ram ka naam badnaam na karo'," he added.
The Congress leader also called for seriously questioning the intent behind the financial restructuring proposed in the bill.
"The proposal to impose 40 per cent of the financial burden directly on state governments is not merely fiscally irresponsible; it is a measure that threatens to make the entire programme unviable," he said.
This sudden and massive shift in liability will inevitably make implementation impossible for poorer states, he pointed out.
"It will lead to delays in wage payments, a reduction in the number of workdays and ultimately, the destruction of the scheme itself. This is a clear violation of fiscal federalism, which is why I believe we lack the legislative competence to undertake such a change," Tharoor asserted.
Lastly, the bill allows the Union to determine when and where the program will operate by making it subject to executive notification, he said.
He claimed that this essentially changes the program's entire nature.
Subsequently, the opposition members also flocked to the Well of the House to protest the "removal" of the Father of the Nation's name from the draft legislation while displaying pictures of Gandhi.
A copy of the law states that every rural household whose adult members agree to perform unskilled manual labour will receive a legislative guarantee of 125 days of paid employment in a fiscal year.
States must create a plan that complies with the new law's requirements within six months after the VB-G RAM G Act's start date.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Rural Development, the proposed legislation will provide a contemporary legal framework that is in line with the objective of "Viksit Bharat 2047".
Through four key verticals—water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works to combat extreme weather events—the bill aspires to create both jobs and long-lasting rural infrastructure.
