New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) Parliament on Thursday passed the VB-G RAM G Bill, that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA and guarantee 125 days of rural wage employment every year, amid vociferous protests by the opposition, with Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserting that it was needed to fix shortcomings in the old scheme.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it on Thursday, amid strong protests by the opposition over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the existing rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and accusing the government of putting the financial burden on states.
Several members of the opposition staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the Bill after demanding its withdrawal and raising slogans against the government. They also tore pages of the Bill, with Chairman C P Radhakrishnan warning them not to go towards the treasury benches.
The opposition parties later sat on a dharna outside the Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament complex against the Bill and claiming that they would launch a country-wide agitation. TMC MPs decided to remain on a 12-hour dharna in Parliament complex on the stairs of Samvidhan Sadan.
The opposition has also demanded that the Bill be sent to a parliamentary panel for further scrutiny.
Responding to the five-hour discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Chouhan accused the Congress of "killing" the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi several times and using his name to further their political gains.
"This Bill is very necessary as it will help provide employment opportunities, help development of rural India and take the country forward," the minister said as he moved the Bill for passage.
Chouhan said that during the UPA's rule, MGNREGA was riddled with corruption and the expected amount of funds was not spent on the procurement of material for designated jobs.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a dream of making the country a developed nation for which development of villages is very important.
"I heard the opposition with patience all these hours and expected the opposition to hear my response to the discussion. Making their points, making allegations and running away is like murdering the dreams and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi," he said as the opposition members staged a protest.
"The entire nation is watching their 'goondagardi' and the opposition is committing the sin of insulting democracy. House 'dadagiri se nahin chalega' (this house will not run with such high-handedness)," he said.
Chouhan said 'Bapu' is the BJP's ideal and the party has adopted social and economic views of Mahatma Gandhi in its functioning.
"Schemes for rural development and employment have been formed since decades, but development of rural areas remained a distant cry. While the original scheme was launched in 2005, the name of Mahatma Gandhi was added in 2009 to derive electoral benefits by the Congress.
"They use the name of Mahatma Gandhi for their politics. If anyone has murdered the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, it is the Congress which has done so. They have murdered Gandhi's ideals several times, including during the Emergency and while committing frauds and scams. They are doing so even now by creating uproar and disturbance in the house," the minister said.
The Modi government implemented MGNREGA properly, Chouhan asserted, and shared data comparing the progress of the scheme during the previous UPA regime and during the NDA.
He claimed that while the UPA released Rs 2.13 lakh crore for the scheme, the NDA released nearly Rs 8.53 lakh crore.
Chouhan said Mahatma Gandhi wanted the Congress to be disbanded after elections, but Jawaharlal Nehru did not do so to derive political benefits.
Earlier in the day, the Lok Sabha passed the bill amid tearing of papers by opposition members who accused the government of destroying rural economy and ignoring Gandhi's principles.
In a spirited reply to the eight-hour discussion on the G RAM G Bill, Chouhan said the bill was brought after extensive deliberations as it was felt that amount to the tune of Rs 10-11 lakh crore should be spent on initiatives such as water conservation, developing core rural and livelihood related infrastructure and taking up special works to mitigate extreme weather events.
As opposition members tore papers and raised slogans in the lower house, Chouhan argued that MGNREGA has outlived its utility and the focus of the government was now on creating permanent assets and developing model villages, instead of just paying wages.
Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters after passage of the bill in Lok Sabha, Chouhan slammed the opposition for resorting to "hooliganism" in the Lok Sabha by tearing papers and standing on the desks in the House. "Through their behaviour, the opposition disgraced democracy, tore parliamentary traditions to shreds and turned democracy into 'bheedtantra' (mobocracy) and 'goondatantra' (hooliganism)." PTI NKD MSS MJH SKC NKD RD
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