The G RAM G Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha; Shivraj Singh said, "The Congress party should now be dissolved."

The Developed India - Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Bill 2025, also known as VB-GIRAMJI, which replaces MNREGA, was passed in the Lok Sabha today after a lengthy debate. Responding to the opposition, Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh attacked the Congress party. He alleged that the Congress had named schemes after the Nehru family instead of Mahatma Gandhi.

Opposition members expressed strong concerns over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme and chanted slogans like "We will not tolerate the insult to Mahatma Gandhi" during the session. While the opposition is questioning the name change, the government maintains that the bill provides a legal guarantee of 125 days of employment and will ensure the holistic development of villages.

Shivraj Singh's attack on Congress

In the Lok Sabha, Shivraj Singh said, "The opposition, which is shedding tears over Gandhi's name, should remember that Gandhi also said that now that independence has been achieved, the Congress should be dissolved. A Lok Sevak Sangh (People's Service Association) should be formed in its place. But Nehru did not dissolve the Congress to cling to power and capitalise on the freedom movement."

He further added, "The Congress killed Bapu's ideals on the very day it refused to dissolve itself. Bapu's ideals were also betrayed the day the partition of the country was accepted, and the day Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency. The Modi government has worked to implement MNREGA properly. There were many shortcomings in it, and the Modi government has addressed these shortcomings."

Why was a new law needed?

Speaking about the new bill, the Rural Development Minister said, "We would like to explain why this new bill was needed.  There was an imbalance in the distribution of funds among the states. MNREGA was facing several problems. In this scheme, 60 percent of the money was for wages and 40 percent for materials. However, only 26 percent of the money was spent on materials. MNREGA had become completely riddled with corruption."