The central government is trying to take away the right to work of the rural poor by bringing the 'VB Ji Ram Ji' bill. Shikhar's CPI(M) MP Amara Ram said this during a discussion on the new scheme bill that the central government has introduced in the Lok Sabha to replace the MGNREGA scheme.
He said, "Leftists have been fighting for the demands of workers and marginalized people across the country since the beginning." When the first UPA government was formed in 2004 with the support of the Left, it introduced 100 days of work for the rural people to earn their livelihood. The BJP government is trying to repeal that law. They are talking about 125 days. But the poor will lose their jobs through this new law. The Left government in Kerala is the only government to have created a separate board for MGNREGS workers. To solve their problems that board has not been established in any state ruled by BJP.
Amara Ram said, "Earlier, there was a budget of one lakh twenty thousand crore taka for this 100-day work. Now only 62 thousand crore taka has been allocated. This shows that this government is anti-poor."
The bill that has been introduced will implement the scheme under a central law. But unlike the 100 Days Work Act (MGNREGA), most states will bear 40 percent of the cost of wages.
In fact, the new law, renamed 'VB Ji Ram Ji', will shift a large portion of the financial responsibility for the legal right to work in villages onto the state.On Tuesday, the Vikas Bharat Rojgar Aajivika Mission (Gramin) Bill (VBG Ram Ji), 2025, replacing the popular MGNREGA in rural areas, was introduced in Parliament. Opposition MPs protested vehemently. Left-wing MPs protest outside Parliament House against the cancellation of MGNREGA. The bill provides for a 125-day job guarantee.The opposition says that this could have been done by amending the existing law. There is also a demand to provide 200 days of work. In fact, the Narendra Modi government is trying to destroy the legal right to guaranteed work in villages.
The bill, introduced by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday, states that states will have to implement the projects as per the law within six months of the passage of the bill. Till now, this responsibility was with the Centre. Therefore, soon after the bill was introduced, the opposition parties protested against the bill in the Lok Sabha. They also protested against the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the bill.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while introducing the bill, said that the government respects not only the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, but also his policies.In addition, he also said that compared to the previous government, the Modi government cares much more about the development of rural public life.
As various opposition parties opposed it, it was decided to send it to the relevant parliamentary committee for detailed review.
The new bill states that the government will provide a wage guarantee along with 125 days of employment in a financial year.
According to the 'VB Ji Ram Ji, 2025 Bill', the Centre will bear 60 percent of the expenditure on wages. The remaining 40 percent will have to be borne by the states. Only in Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern states, and Hill states, this ratio will be 90:10.The Centre will bear the entire wage cost only in a few Union Territories like Andaman and Nicobar, which do not have a legislative assembly.
According to the current MGNREGA, the entire wage cost has to be borne by the Centre. The state has to pay the allowance for job card holders who do not get work. In addition, the state has to bear 25 percent of the cost of materials and equipment. And the administrative cost has to be borne at the state level.
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