New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS) The Lok Sabha descended into pandemonium on Thursday as Union Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan attempted to deliver the government's reply on the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM-G Bill), amid relentless sloganeering and protests from the opposition benches.
Congress MP K.C. Venugopal urgently pressed Speaker Om Birla to refer the Bill -- which proposes replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a framework guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment annually -- to a Standing Committee or Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for thorough examination.
The Speaker rejected the plea, highlighting that the Bill had already been debated for over eight hours, extending late into the previous night.
Defying the uproar, Minister Chouhan pressed on with his speech, emphasising enhanced provisions under the new legislation.
"With a whopping allocation and more employment opportunities, we are creating provisions for fully developed (sampoorna viksit) villages -- this is the Modi government's objective," he stated.
The Bill's name itself reflects its guarantee of employment and improved livelihoods, he added, aligning it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision.
Minister Chouhan portrayed the initiative as building a prosperous India, with plans for ideal villages equipped with all basic amenities, employment, better livelihoods, and facilities right at the village level, in line with the Viksit Bharat @2047 goal.
"PM Modi has envisioned a slew of amenities for self-reliant villages," he asserted, undeterred by interruptions.
He also said that the Congress party had curtailed the budget from Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore, "while we will spend more than Rs 95,000 crore under the new scheme".
The Bill has drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition for allegedly weakening MGNREGA's demand-driven guarantees, shifting costs to states, and removing Mahatma Gandhi's name -- a move decried as an insult to the Father of the Nation. Supporters, however, counter that it modernises rural empowerment, boosts days from 100 to 125, and promotes convergence for infrastructure and saturation coverage.
--IANS
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