In a charged atmosphere within the Parliament House complex, several opposition Members of Parliament staged a determined protest march on Thursday, wielding photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and vociferously demanding the immediate withdrawal of the controversial VB-G RAM G Bill. The demonstration underscored deep divisions over the government's proposal to overhaul the rural employment framework, with critics viewing it as a direct affront to the legacy of the Father of the Nation.

The protesters, marching behind a prominent banner emblazoned with 'Mahatma Gandhi NREGA', proceeded from the Gandhi statue at Prerna Sthal to the Makar Dwar entrance of Parliament. They raised resounding slogans condemning the government's actions, highlighting what they described as an attempt to diminish Gandhian principles embedded in the existing rural job guarantee program.

Key figures from various opposition parties participated actively in the march, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, DMK leaders Karunanidhi Kanimozhi, T R Baalu, and A Raja, IUML's E T Mohammed Basheer, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Sawant, and RSP's N K Premchandran. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi also lent her presence to the demonstration, joining the MPs at Makar Dwar to amplify the call for preserving the original scheme's integrity.

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AICC general secretary K C Venugopal addressed reporters amid the protest, asserting that the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the rural employment act constituted a profound assault on democratic values and the ideology of the nation's founding figure. He framed the legislative move as symptomatic of broader efforts to undermine established welfare mechanisms.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, currently under debate in Parliament, aims to supplant the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005. It proposes a statutory assurance of 125 days of wage employment annually for rural households engaging in unskilled manual work, while mandating states to formulate aligned schemes within six months of enactment. Opposition leaders have vehemently contested the bill, alleging it not only dishonors Mahatma Gandhi but also weakens core protections of the longstanding rural employment initiative.

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