The extent of the Sangh Parivar's hatred not only for Mahatma Gandhi's work but also for his name is evident from the Modi government's move to abolish MNREGA and replace it with the VB-G Ram G Bill. The very name of the bill makes it clear that its entire political agenda is based on the name of Ram.

The insidious renaming of the scheme from MNREGA to G Ram G also reflects the ideological agenda of the BJP-RSS. The Sangh Parivar has turned Ram into a symbol of communal polarization to consolidate its power. Few days ago, the cabinet decided to replace Mahatma Gandhi with "Pujya Bapu," but this decision was reversed, perhaps because that name didn't serve their purpose of political, polarization.

After attacking the rights of urban workers by dismantling labor laws and imposing four labor codes, an attack on the rights of rural workers was inevitable. However, no one expected this attack to come so soon. The "labor reforms" that the Modi government talks about are inherently anti-worker and pro-corporate. It is in the interest of capitalism to maintain a large army of unemployed workers in society so that maximum profits can be earned by keeping the wage component of costs to a minimum. Therefore, it is against any scheme like universal employment, which is the concept behind MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act).

The Modi government's decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Developed India – Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM Bill) is a significant step towards implementing these anti-worker labor reforms. This move by the Modi government must be strongly opposed, as the bill completely negates the fundamental character of MGNREGA and replaces the universal guarantee of employment with only a limited guarantee of work. The bill also legally absolves the central government of its responsibility to allocate funds to states based on their demands. The universal guarantee of employment and 100% allocation of funds based on states' demands are the lifeblood of MGNREGA. The new bill, passed by both houses, contradicts both these provisions and will therefore lead to the destruction, not creation, of employment in rural areas. (This is the hidden objective of this bill.) Thus, the world's largest employment generation scheme, which proved its worth even during the COVID-19 crisis and ensured an increase in agricultural growth rate, has effectively been thrown to the wolves. The government has passed this bill using its parliamentary majority, and in its haste, it even refused to accept the opposition's suggestion to send the bill's provisions to a parliamentary standing committee for deliberation.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household without discrimination. The new bill proposes to increase this to 125 days. Presenting this provision, the Modi government in Parliament described it as a "modern alternative to the old MNREGA law" and a "structural reform for rural development in line with the goal of Developed India - 2047." However, this claim is merely a facade. The truth is that this bill, under the guise of rationalizing job cards, opens the door to excluding large sections of rural families from their right to demand employment. Our experience shows that every possible attempt has been made over the past 11 years to weaken the universal employment provision of MNREGA. This includes insufficient budget allocation, leading to delayed and pending wage payments for months, making Aadhaar and bank accounts mandatory for payments, and mandating digital recording of workers' attendance. In a single month between October and November of this year, the names of 27 lakh workers were removed from the registration list on the grounds of inactivity. Therefore, the provision of 125 days of employment instead of 100 in this passed bill is not reassuring. The Modi government's record over the past 11 years shows that despite the guarantee of 100 days of employment under MNREGA, it has provided an average of only 40-45 days of employment per year, which is less than the average during the UPA regime. The new bill further weakens this guarantee.

MNREGA was a demand-driven scheme, but the new bill has effectively abandoned it. The provision of 125 days of employment will be available only in areas selected by the central government. The criteria for this selection are not mentioned in the bill, and we can easily surmise that this selection will serve the political needs of the BJP. Furthermore, the autonomy of Gram Panchayats in formulating rural development schemes will be eliminated, and they will be forced to follow the dictates of the central government. In this way, the concept of cooperative federalism, enshrined in the Constitution, will also be undermined.

The new bill grants the government the power to suspend this employment scheme during the agricultural season, when there is the most work in the fields. This provision will deprive rural families of work when they need it most, making them dependent on the whims of landowners. The bill does not define "agriculture-intensive season." Our country has diverse climates, leading to the cultivation of a variety of crops. Besides the Rabi and Kharif seasons, there are regions where three crops are grown, resulting in agricultural activity throughout the year. Under this provision of the new bill, the refusal to provide work could be extended for most of the year, effectively defeating the purpose of the employment guarantee. The provision mandating digital attendance at the worksite will also create significant difficulties for laborers and will serve as a means of denying them employment and infringing upon their rights.

Under neoliberal policies, the ease with which corporations have been able to seize natural resources like water, forests, and land has led to the large-scale loss of agricultural land from the hands of small farmers, forcing them into the ranks of landless laborers. Simultaneously, capitalist development in the agricultural sector has led to increased mechanization. This has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of days of employment available to agricultural laborers, even during the peak farming season. It is a well-known reality in rural areas that, despite legal provisions, women are still not paid equal wages for agricultural work compared to men, and their wages are up to 40 percent lower. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) provided crucial support to these landless laborers, ensuring alternative employment at fair wages even when work was unavailable in the fields during the agricultural season. This new bill is snatching away this vital lifeline from the rural poor. With increasing mechanization and a decline in the average number of days of employment, the absence of MNREGA will lead to a severe drop in wages, particularly for women, and will intensify the exploitation by landowners.

Several studies on MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) indicate that it has increased the income of rural poor by 10 percent and has boosted their self-respect, as it has enhanced their collective bargaining power. Consequently, whether they receive employment under MNREGA or not, they have refused to work elsewhere at lower wage rates. The propaganda about labor shortages for agricultural work due to MNREGA stems from the fact that poor villagers are no longer willing to work for meager wages. The dominant feudal class perceives this as a direct challenge from the rural poor. The Modi government's bill will serve to undermine this very strength that MNREGA had given to the rural poor.

The changes in the funding pattern for rural employment will also deprive workers of jobs. This bill reduces the central government's responsibility for wage payments from the current 100 percent to a 60:40 partnership with the states. It also shifts the responsibility for unemployment allowance and compensation costs to the states. Furthermore, a provision for "normative allocation" is being introduced, meaning that the central government will set maximum limits on state-wise spending on employment schemes, and any expenditure exceeding these limits will have to be borne by the states.

Until now, the central government has allocated only 60-70 thousand crore rupees for this scheme. According to experts on the scheme, this budget allocation for MGNREGA is far too low, and many of the problems and shortcomings associated with the scheme stem from this. Now, with the supposedly increased number of employment days, if the scheme's level is to be maintained, a budget allocation of at least 1 lakh crore rupees will be required.  According to the provisions of the bill, 40 percent of this, or approximately 40,000 crore rupees, will have to be borne by the state governments. This will place an unbearable financial burden on already financially distressed state governments, especially since the central government has already seized most of the states' financial resources. This will likely lead states to try to avoid creating rural employment works altogether. If the Modi government simply shares the current central allocation with the states, it will be difficult to even maintain the current quality of the scheme, as this approach will further limit the scope of the program and reduce the central government's accountability.

The farmers' movement in our country has been continuously protesting, demanding 250 days of employment under this scheme and a wage rate of ₹750. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has also recommended increasing the minimum MNREGA wage to ₹400 per day. Ignoring this, the Modi government, in its own style, has fixed the minimum wage under this scheme at ₹240 per day, even though the wage rates in many states, including those ruled by the BJP, are much higher. Therefore, this minimum wage will incentivize several states to either reduce wages for this employment scheme or maintain the existing wage rates, which are already low. The reality is that the wages offered under MNREGA are even lower than the minimum wages declared for unskilled laborers in the unorganized sector in cities. Despite this, the BJP government is promoting corporate interests at the expense of the livelihoods of the rural poor. Therefore, associating this bill with the name "Ram" (Rojgar and Aajiwika Mission) is simply ridiculous, but this name is being used to mislead the public and further the communal polarization of society. Changing names and compromising on the quality of work has become a hallmark of this government.

The Modi government, in introducing this bill in Parliament, has spoken of modernizing MNREGA, but there was no need to abolish the scheme to achieve this. It could have easily done so by consulting with political parties, trade unions, and organizations representing rural poor, and by making changes to the MNREGA rules with broad consensus. This would have strengthened MNREGA and ensured its effective implementation as a universal and demand-driven employment guarantee program. However, the government's real objective is to dismantle this very character of MNREGA. Therefore, this new bill, in its entirety, also renders ineffective Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution, which guarantee citizens the right to earn a livelihood with dignity.

Mahatma Gandhi spoke of wiping the tears of the person standing at the very last rung of society. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), which was enacted under pressure from the Left parties on the then UPA government, was an attempt to achieve this goal. It provided a source of livelihood to tribals, Dalits, and economically weaker sections. But to serve the interests of corporations, the Modi government has completely abandoned this very objective of Mahatma Gandhi.


The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.