VB-G RAM G bill is in country’s interest, those who stole MGNREGA funds are unhappy: Scindia

The VB-G RAM G bill is in the country’s interest, and its implementation will hurt only those who indulged in corruption and stole the wages of beneficiaries under the erstwhile Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said.

The new legislation benefits farmers and the youth by increasing employment, he told reporters here on Friday (December 19, 2025).

Also read | Change for the worse: On MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G

Responding to the Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Narendra Modi government over the passage of the bill, Mr. Scindia took a dig at Mr. Gandhi’s foreign trips, saying, “If he is the leader of the Opposition, he should at least be in the House.”

“When the Congress introduced the MNREGA scheme, not even ₹10,000 crore was allocated under it, whereas the VB-G RAM G bill provides for more than ₹1 lakh crore. This will increase employment opportunities for rural people,” he said.

In a veiled attack on the previous Congress-led government, the BJP MP stated that some people in the past embezzled funds allocated for MNREGA schemes and stole the wages of beneficiaries by presenting fake bills.

After the new bill was passed by Parliament, only these people are feeling uncomfortable, Mr. Scindia added.

“The country is continuously progressing, but these people want to chain the country. The people of the country have repeatedly responded to their negative thinking [by rejecting them],” the Minister added.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it on Thursday (December 18, 2025), amid strong protests by the Opposition over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the existing rural employment guarantee scheme, MGNREGA, and accusing the government of putting the financial burden on States.