Opposition Uproar in Parliament Over VB-G RAM G Law Replacing MGNREGA
President Murmu’s mention of new rural employment law sparks protests during Budget Session address.
Chaos erupted in Parliament on January 28, 2026, as President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint session to kick off the Budget Session. Opposition MPs raised loud slogans and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Act, popularly abbreviated as VB-G RAM G or ‘G RAM G’ law. While NDA members, including BJP MPs, thumped their desks in approval, the Opposition benches turned noisy, accusing the government of diluting a key rural welfare scheme originally introduced by the UPA.
In her speech, President Murmu highlighted the new law as a reform for rural employment and development. “For employment and development in rural areas, Viksit Bharat-G RAM G law has been formed. With this new reform, there will be 125 days of employment guarantees in villages,” she stated. The legislation, passed amid fierce protests in the previous session and receiving presidential assent in December 2025, is positioned as an updated version of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Unlike MGNREGA’s 100-day guarantee with unemployment allowance if work is unavailable, the G RAM G law extends employment assurance to 125 days while retaining the allowance provision.
The most contentious change is the shift to employment generation through pre-approved plans, which critics argue reduces flexibility and grassroots involvement compared to the demand-driven MGNREGA model. Congress leaders have been particularly vocal, slamming the renaming from Mahatma Gandhi to ‘G RAM G’ as an attempt to erase the legacy of the Father of the Nation. Several party figures have accused the government of ideological motives behind dropping Gandhi’s name from one of India’s most iconic welfare programs.
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The first phase of the Budget Session runs until February 13, with the second phase scheduled from March 9 to April 2. Union Budget 2026-27 will be presented on February 1. The uproar over G RAM G sets the stage for heated debates on rural employment, welfare reforms, and political symbolism as the session progresses.
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