‘Second Assassination Of Mahatma Gandhi’: TMC MPs Sit On Overnight Dharna Against G RAM G Bill

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MPs held an overnight dharna against the passing of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, also known as the VB-G RAM G Bill.

TMC MPs spent the night at the gate of the Samvidhan Sadan, with banners and portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, slamming the government over the Bill, which replaces the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Sagarika Ghose, Derek O'Brien, Sushmita Dev, Dola Sen, Ritabrata Banerjee, Mausam Noor, Prakash Chik Baraik, and other party MPs, along with the INDIA bloc MPs, were present at the protest site. TMC MP Sagarika Ghose, present at the protest site, claimed the passing of the bill as "the second assassination of Mahatma Gandhi" and a disrespect to Rabindranath Tagore, who bestowed the honorific 'Mahatma' on Gandhi.

"We MPs of the Trinamool Congress have been sitting on a 12-hour dharna. We started at midnight. Our dharna will go on till noon," TMC leader Sagarika Ghose said. "We are sitting in a dharna because of the manner in which the NREGA Act has been destroyed by the Modi government, and it has been replaced by the VBGRG Bill. It was given to us just five hours before the government introduced it in the House. The Modi government is using bulldozer tactics to push through legislation," Ghose said.

Sushmita Dev was also present at the protest and posted about it on her official X handle. She posted, "Twelve hours dharna at parliament against a law that amends MNREGS to dilute 100 days Job guarantee. NDA reduces its responsibility to pay from 90% to 60%. No committee scrutiny, just bulldozed. @BJP4India stands exposed as they remove the name of Mahatma Gandhi from the Act."

With several slogans raised among the opposition protests, there were also banners held by the opposition members with a statement, "Don't Kill MGNREGA, Like you killed Gandhi, as a sign of protest. The bill has sparked controversy, with opposition parties alleging that it disrespects Mahatma Gandhi and weakens rural employment guarantees.

The bill increases guaranteed rural employment from 100 to 125 days but shifts 40% of the funding burden to states, unlike MGNREGA, which was fully Centre-funded. The opposition, including TMC, Congress, and other parties, demands the bill's withdrawal, citing concerns over the removal of Gandhi's name and potential dilution of workers' rights.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan defends the bill, calling it a welfare reform rooted in "Ram Rajya" values. The Lok Sabha passed the bill amid protests, with opposition MPs tearing copies and throwing them in the air. The government maintains that the bill will strengthen rural employment and livelihoods. Parliament on Friday passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB--G RAM G) Bill, with Rajya Sabha approving the legislation after it got the nod of the Lok Sabha. Opposition members staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha before the bill seeking to replace MGNREGA was passed.

Also read:

1. G RAM G Bill 'Anti Village': Rahul Accuses Modi Govt Of Demolishing 20 Years Of MGNREGA In One Day
2. Don't End MGNREGA, People Won't Let You Roam On Roads: LoP Kharge To Centre