Bill receives presidential assent and clears both houses amid rushed timetable The VB‑G RAM G Bill, designed to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, was signed by President Droupadi Murmu and passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha between December 18 and 21, 2025, despite opposition complaints of a five‑hour notice and no substantive debate [3][2]. Lawmakers described the passage as “anti‑poor” and “anti‑farmer,” noting that the legislation would dismantle the existing employment guarantee for roughly 12 crore rural workers [3]. The bill’s language, a mix of Hindi words rendered in English script, drew criticism for being incomprehensible to both Hindi‑only and English‑only readers [1].

Opposition stages overnight dharna and denounces symbolic marginalisation Members of Parliament from the Trinamool Congress, Congress, and DMK staged a 12‑hour sit‑in inside the Parliament complex, labeling the bill an insult to India’s poor, Gandhi, and Tagore [3]. Sagarika Ghose (TMC) and Randeep Singh Surjewala (Congress) condemned the lack of debate, while DMK MP T. Siva warned that the reform would shift a large share of farm‑hand wages to state coffers, jeopardising livelihoods [3]. DMK leader Tiruchi Siva also alleged that statues of Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar were moved to the back of the Parliament building, removing Gandhi’s name from the scheme and symbolically erasing his legacy [3].

DMK outlines nationwide protest strategy starting Dec 24 Chief Minister M. K. Stalin announced a series of sustained demonstrations beginning December 24 to force the BJP government to withdraw the VB‑G RAM G Bill, accusing the centre of adopting the legislation without parliamentary discussion [2]. He highlighted that the new framework would obligate states to fund 40 % of farm‑hand wages, effectively burdening poorer states while the BJP allegedly reduced MNREGA’s outlay and working days [2]. Stalin also used cultural diplomacy, inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to visit Tamil Nadu’s Porunai and Keeladi museums as a contrast to the central policy [2].

Chidambaram brands the bill a second killing of Gandhi and warns of fiscal fallout Veteran Congress leader P. Chidambaram called the VB‑G RAM G Bill “the second killing of Mahatma Gandhi,” condemning it as an attack on social protection and a “vindictive” political move [1]. He criticized the bill’s unreadable language and warned that states would bear excess expenditures under the normative funding model, harming the poor if the guarantee loses its 100‑day‑a‑year provision [1]. Simultaneously, Chidambaram urged the Union government to halt the Enforcement Directorate’s National Herald case, framing it as politically motivated retaliation against the Gandhi family [1].