Those who fear Gandhi still fear his name, says Satheesan on MGNREGA row

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, on Tuesday (December 16) salmmed the Centre for removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from a rural employment guarantee scheme and alleged that it reflects the Sangh Parivar's 'fear' of Gandhian ideals.

It was an attempt by the Narendra Modi government to appropriate the legacy of the programme, he alleged.

He was reacting to the Centre’s decision to bring in the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, which seeks to repeal and replace the existing MGNREGA.

‘Deep intolerance towards Mahatma Gandhi’

The LoP said the BJP-led NDA government's decision revealed the Sangh Parivar's "deep intolerance" towards Mahatma Gandhi and the values he represented.

"Gandhian philosophy is the soul of the nation. The Sangh Parivar, which propagates a politics of division, hatred and animosity, cannot comprehend Gandhi's politics of love or the depth and reach of the values he championed," he said.

Those who assassinated the Father of the Nation continue to fear even his name and memory, the LoP further pointed out.

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Drawing parallels with the Centre's earlier actions, the Congress senior alleged that the names of former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had also been removed from several schemes, and repeated attempts were made to demean their contributions.

The Congress leader accused the Sangh Parivar of betraying the freedom struggle and attempting to assert that the country belongs only to them. However, he said the BJP government should remember that the Congress and its leaders are equally part of India.

MGNREGA is a ‘revolutionary’ welfare programme

The Congress leader further described the MGNREGA as a revolutionary initiative that helped alleviate the hunger of poor people in the country and enabled large sections of the population, especially women, to attain self-reliance.

"The Modi government is now trying to appropriate the parentage of this scheme, which was introduced by the UPA government in 2005," the senior leader alleged.

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Those who believe that removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from the employment guarantee scheme will help to erase his ideas are living in a fool's paradise, he added.

Stating that the nation will collectively resist this move. He also urged the Centre to withdraw this "arrogant and high-handed" decision immediately.

What the VB-G RAM G Bill proposes

The VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, which seeks to replace the existing rural employment law, MGNREGA, is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

According to a copy of the Bill, it will provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work. Within six months of the Act's commencement date, states must establish a scheme consistent with the new law's provisions.