VB-G RAM G: Strange name and deep deception? Chidambaram opened the page of the new bill which no one is reading

News India Live, Digital Desk: Changing names of schemes is not a new thing in our country. Sometimes schemes have come and gone in the name of Nehru, sometimes Indira and sometimes in the name of some other leader. But this time the matter is a little different. This time the Central Government has cut corners on ‘MGNREGA’, which is called the lifeline of the villages, and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is angry on this matter. He said something in front of the Parliament and the media, which has created a stir in the political circles. He says, “The government has murdered Mahatma Gandhi for the second time.” This statement sounds very heavy, doesn’t it? So let us understand in depth what is there in the ‘VB-G-Ram-G’ (VB-G RAM G) bill which the Congress is calling a “fraud” i.e. cheating on the poor. Strange name, strange game. Chidambaram first of all made fun of the name of this new bill. ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ has now become – ‘Vikas Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural)’, which is being called VB-G RAM G in short. Chidambaram says that this name looks as if Hindi words have been forcefully fitted into English letters. But their real gripe is that why was the name of ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ removed from this scheme? His argument is simple—Bapu had always talked about village swaraj, MNREGA was a symbol of his thinking. Removing his name is not just a cosmetic change, but an attempt to erase an ideology. “Fraud in the name of guarantee” Why did Chidambaram call this bill ‘fraud’? He has enumerated three big reasons behind this, which are important for you and us to know: Flexibility of funds: In the old law, the responsibility of money was 100% of the central government. State governments just had to get the work done. According to Chidambaram, in the new law the expenditure is being passed on to the states (ratio 60:40). Now from where will poor states like Bihar, Odisha or UP get so much money? It is clear that if there is no fund, then you will not get work. Legal rights are lost: The beauty of MNREGA was that it was your ‘legal right’ to ask for work. If work was not found, the government had to pay allowance while sitting at home. The opposition alleges that the new bill is removing it from a ‘right’ and making it merely a government ‘scheme’. Meaning, if the officials wish you will get the work, otherwise you will be made to walk away. Work stopped at the time of farming: There is a discussion in the new rules that when there will be sowing and harvesting season, then work will not be given in NREGA. The government argues that this will provide labor to the farmers. But Chidambaram asks – “If a poor farmer’s crop gets ruined and he needs work at that very moment, will he die of hunger?” “Like hitting a nail on the shroud.” Congress says that this bill is a conspiracy to destroy the biggest achievement of the UPA government (MNREGA, 2005). Chidambaram even said that the BJP government not only wants to erase the legacy of Congress, now they are bent on erasing the memories of Gandhiji as well. On the other hand, the government has its own logic. They say that they are making the country ‘developed’ and making the old system digital and more transparent. Now what is truth and what is politics, it will be known in the coming days when the laborers go to ask for work. But one thing is certain, as complicated as the name ‘VB-G RAM G’ is, the politics surrounding it is more complicated than that. Do you think changing old names is necessary for development?