G Ram G clears Lok Sabha amid uproar, opposition tears copies

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, December 18, 2025: The G Ram G Bill, which will replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, was passed in the Lok Sabha amid a massive protest by the Opposition MPs this morning. Members of the Opposition, who wanted the Bill sent to a standing committee, protested in the Well and tore up papers after the Speaker said the legislation had been discussed at length. The Bill will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha.

Earlier, several members of the opposition, including Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, DMK’s TR Baalu and Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, opposed the Bill. The Opposition MPs said removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the law is an insult to the Father of the Nation, and also pointed out that the Bill puts more burden on the states.

Arguing in favour of the Bill, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Congress has named laws only after Nehru and is now questioning the NDA government. He also countered Priyanka Gandhi’s remarks, in which she said the government has a "craze" to change names. Chouhan said it is the opposition that has a "craze" to change names and the Narendra Modi government is only focused on work. MGNREGA, he said, was nothing but a tool of corruption and stressed that the new law has been brought after discussions with stakeholders.

The Opposition did not relent and several MPs entered the Well and started protesting against the Bill. Some of them then tore up papers. Speaker Om Birla said, "The people have not sent you here to tear paper. The nation is watching you."

After the House was adjourned, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the opposition would strongly oppose the Bill. "Anyone who reads the Bill will understand how the rural employment guarantee scheme is about to finish. This Bill puts a funding burden on states, and state governments don’t have money. This scheme (MGNREGA) is a support for the poorest of the poor. This Bill is anti-poor," she told the media.

Union Minister SP Singh Baghel said that the tearing of papers inside the House is condemnable and there is no place for such actions in a democracy. "The Honourable Speaker and the government discussed this Bill till late at night. The way they tore up papers is extremely condemnable. The Bill is in the interest of people," he said.

Chirag Paswan, Union Minister and BJP’s ally, said that such behaviour from the opposition is not acceptable. "You have the right to oppose. You got all the time to oppose it. But this kind of behaviour, throwing papers, making planes and throwing them at the chair... The oldest party of the country is behaving like this inside the House. This is very fortunate," Paswan said. "You are opposing the name? Ram was Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite name. He died with Hey Ram on his lips."