Thu Dec 18 06:01:16 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
Opposition MPs Protest Government’s Proposed VB-G RAM G Bill
NEW DELHI – December 18, 2025 – Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) staged a protest today within the Parliament House complex against the government’s Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, which seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005.
Led by prominent figures including Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav, and DMK MP T.R. Baalu, protestors marched from the Gandhi statue at Prerna Sthal to Makar Dwar, holding photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and chanting slogans demanding the bill’s withdrawal. Other notable participants included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, DMK’s K. Kanimozhi, A. Raja, IUML’s E.T. Mohammed Basheer, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant and RSP’s N.K. Premchandran. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi also joined the demonstrations.
The opposition argues that the VB-G RAM G Bill dilutes the provisions of the MGNREGA, insults Mahatma Gandhi by removing his name from the scheme, and undermines democratic values. Mr. Venugopal stated that Parliament is witnessing “murder of democracy.”
The VB-G RAM G Bill proposes a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per financial year for rural households whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual labor. States will be required to create schemes consistent with the new law within six months of its enactment. The bill is currently being debated in Parliament.
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