NEW DELHI: Rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Thursday ‘VB-G Ram G’ bill improves substantially on MGNREGA, which was “riddled” by corruption and inefficiency, as Lok Sabha passed the draft law amid fierce protests from opposition. They demanded that bill be sent to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny and assailed govt for removing Mahatma Gandhi‘s name from rural employment guarantee scheme.As Chouhan began his reply after Congress MP KC Venugopal’s demand for sending Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RAM G) Bill to the committee went unheeded, opposition members trooped into the well, tore its copies and continued their protest till the House passed the bill.Gandhi’s name wasn’t part of original 2005 law: Shivraj Singh ChouhanRejecting opposition’s criticism, including removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name, rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan turned to Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s barbed attack on govt for its obsession with changing names and said if anyone suffered from such a proclivity it was Congress, as scores of places, schemes, awards and events were named after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.There were 25 and 27 schemes in states named after Rajiv Gandhi & Indira Gandhi, while educational institutions named after Rajiv, Indira and Jawaharlal Nehru numbered 55, 21 and 22, respectively, he said, reeling out more data. Unruly protest by Congress MPs and tearing copies of the bill amounts to killing Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals, Chouhan claimed, adding his (Gandhi’s) name was not part of the original 2005 legislation and added in 2009.He said the bill was brought after extensive deliberations as it was felt such massive amounts should not be spent on merely paying wages but used for creating permanent assets as well, while making the programme more transparent. Govt has allocated over Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the scheme and Centre’s share alone be over Rs 95,000 crore, he said. In remarks after the bill’s passage, he denounced opposition for its protest, saying it has turned democracy into “bheedtantra (mobocracy) and goondatantra (hooliganism)”.Rahul Gandhi, he said, has robbed his position of LoP with his conduct, including his current visit abroad when Parliament is discussing key legislations. On the criticism that the bill burdens states with 40% of expenditure, he said both Centre and states are responsible for development. MGNREGA had many shortcomings, some states at times were more interested in drawing funds from Centre and cutting down on their share in expenses of material. One ditch after another was dug up, he said.He told LS, “We have made provisions to improve employment. This vast amount of money will be used to build fully-developed villages,” he said, adding the central sector scheme will be used to ensure water security by creating ponds, irrigation channels and rural infrastructure. Speaker Om Birla said 99 MPs had spoken on the bill during the discussion that lasted eight hours.
