"Congress will score a century of defeats": BJP MP Anurag Thakur critises Congress over VB-G RAM-G Bill row

Jalandhar (Punjab) [India], December 27 (ANI): BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Friday criticised Congress for opposing the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgaar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill (VB-G RAM-G) 2025, citing that the party has a problem with the name Ram.
Speaking to the media, Thakur took a dig at the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress for losing several consecutive elections, calling it a struggling party.
"...The Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi will soon score a century of defeats in 2026," Anurag Thakur said.
Commenting on the opposition's anger over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the reformed version of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the BJP MP said that Congress remembered Mahatma Gandhi only in 2009 and not in the prior employment schemes.
"...In 1989, it (MGNREGA) was named 'Jawahar Rozgar Yojana', in 1999 it was named 'Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana', and in 2001 it was named 'Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana', and then again in 2004, under the UPA government, the scheme was named 'NREGA', and finally in 2009, it was named 'MGNREGA'. I ask the Congress, did they only remember Mahatma Gandhi in 2009?..." Anurag Thakur asked.
He further accused Congress of politicising Mahatma Gandhi's name, alleging that Gandhi himself had asked for the dissolution of Congress after securing independence for the country.
Moreover, Thakur underscored the benefits of the VB-G RAM-G Bill for the country's poor and needy population. He cited additional days of employment, a higher budget, increased wages, geotagging, and bank accounts for salary crediting as the bill's improved benefits, not available under the MGNREGA, as proposed by Congress.
"The poor and needy people in the country will now get the opportunity to work for 125 days instead of 100 days. The daily wages will be increased in this bill. Congress's budget for MGNREGA was Rs 30,000 crore, which the Modi government has increased to Rs 1 lakh 11 thousand crore annually. To prevent fraudulent activities, as observed in the Congress reign, geotagging and bank account creation have been done..." Anurag Thakur stated.
Thakur also condemned Congress for opposing Lord Ram's name, citing their criticism of the Ram Mandir, Ram Setu and Deepam row in Tamil Nadu. He asserted the omnipresence of Sanatan Dharma in the country.
Earlier in the day, Anurag Thakur attended the Harballah Sangeet Sammelan in Jalandhar and underscored the festival's significance to the country's musical legacy.
The Parliament passed the VB-G RAM G Bill on December 18, and it received the President's assent on December 21.
The law guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work.
As per Section 22 of the law, the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States, and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), it will be 90:10. Section 6 of the law allows the state governments to notify in advance, a period aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting. (ANI)