Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien has strongly condemned the government’s plan to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling it an “insult to Mahatma Gandhi". Speaking on social media platform X, O’Brien said, “Removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name... This is an insult to Gandhiji. Are you surprised? These are the same people who hero-worshipped the man who killed Mahatma Gandhi. They want to insult Gandhiji. We will never allow this to happen.”

The controversy comes as the government chose not to move forward with the 'Viksit Bharat—Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025', which was slated to replace MGNREGA.

The bill had been listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha’s supplementary business alongside three other legislations but was deferred with the government apparently sensing strong opposition resistance. Instead, the House proceeded to discuss and vote on the Supplementary Demands for Grants for the fiscal year 2025-2026.

While the government pushed ahead with introducing three other key bills focused on legal reform, higher education, and nuclear energy, it exercised caution on the rural employment legislation given the political sensitivity.

The proposed Viksit Bharat-Gramin Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Bill, 2025, seeks to increase guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125 annually and shift emphasis towards building durable rural infrastructure and resilience.

Earlier, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had separately explained, “This new legislation aims to move beyond livelihood security to build rural infrastructure in alignment with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. It emphasises empowerment, growth, convergence, and saturation through public works focusing on water security, core rural infrastructure, and special works to mitigate extreme weather events.”

The bill envisions a centrally sponsored scheme with states sharing financial responsibility. The Centre will provide 90 per cent funding for North Eastern and Himalayan states, while other states will contribute 40 per cent.

The move to rename MGNREGA and the changes proposed in the new bill have drawn sharp criticism also from other opposition leaders, including Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi, who questioned the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme.

The government, however, maintains that the bill reflects the evolving socio-economic realities in rural India, citing improvements in connectivity, housing, electrification, and financial inclusion since the original act’s enactment in 2005.

As the debate intensifies, the government is expected to revisit the bill ensuring a sizable presence of ruling side MPs in the house to ensure the bill is comfortably approved in case a division is sought when the legislation is put to vote.