MGNREGA Renaming Sparks Fierce Opposition from Gandhi, Chaturvedi

New Delhi, December 13, 2025: The Union Cabinet’s decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)—the country’s largest social security scheme—has triggered a sharp political backlash. The scheme is now set to be called the ‘Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana’, a move the government says aligns the programme closer with Mahatma Gandhi’s vision for village upliftment.

However, the opposition has not taken kindly to the proposed change. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi have both publicly slammed the central government, questioning the necessity and timing of the change.

The Opposition’s Core Arguments

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led the charge by directly questioning the high cost and logic behind the renaming. “I can’t understand what mentality is behind this,” she stated, emphasizing that changing the name—which includes updating all official documents, stationery, and infrastructure—would be a “big, costly process” and an unnecessary drain on government resources. She stressed that the focus should be on strengthening the scheme’s on-the-ground implementation rather than its title.

Echoing this sentiment, Priyanka Chaturvedi criticised the move as a political distraction. She argued that the renaming is an attempt to “mislead the public” and shows a persistent “discomfort” with the name of the Gandhi family. Chaturvedi suggested that the government is seeking to divert attention from more critical issues facing the rural economy and the scheme’s persistent challenges, such as delayed wage payments and hurdles created by mandatory technology-driven steps like Aadhaar-linking.

Government’s Rationale and Proposed Changes

The government has countered the criticism by framing the renaming as part of a larger plan to reform and strengthen the rural jobs programme. Along with the new name, the Cabinet has approved amendments that will increase the guaranteed work days from 100 to 125 per household per year. Reports also indicate an upward revision of the minimum daily wage to ₹240, along with a significant push for digitisation and updated legal frameworks.

Officials argue the new name, which still pays homage to the ‘Father of the Nation’ by using his moniker ‘Bapu’ (father) with the honorific ‘Pujya’ (worshipped), is meant to give the scheme a “refreshed identity” and bring greater uniformity to rural employment initiatives. They insist that the fundamental guarantee of wage employment will remain intact.

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The Larger Debate: Substance vs. Symbolism

At its heart, the controversy boils down to a conflict between focusing on substance versus symbolism.

The opposition views the name change as a costly symbolic gesture that will not fix the scheme’s operational weaknesses. Critics point out that despite the 100-day guarantee, the average number of work days provided per household often remains much lower.

The government, however, positions the renaming as a vital part of a comprehensive legislative update—the ‘Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Bill 2025‘—which aims to not only change the name but also expand benefits, update the legal structure, and tighten implementation to create durable community assets.

The Bill, which is expected to be introduced in the upcoming parliamentary session, will face a stiff challenge from an invigorated opposition determined to use this debate to highlight the scheme’s implementation shortfalls and the political nature of the name change.