December 17, 2025
June Maliah’s speech on The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB – G RAM G (विकवित भारत – जी राम जी) Bill, 2025
Sir, it was Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore who first used the term Mahatma to pay tribute to the ‘Father of our Nation’, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. What this Government is doing with regard to the title of this Bill is insulting and humiliating two of India’s greatest luminaries, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. You have insulted Gandhi ji by erasing his name from the title of the Bill. But I am not surprised at all because you are the same people .. into the sacred body of our ‘Father of the Nation’. You have made a habit of insulting great Indians. You insulted Kobi Guru by saying he was born in Shantiniketan. You insulted Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar by destroying his statue. You insulted Raja Ram Mohan Roy just recently. You insulted Sahitya Samrat Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by calling him ‘Bankim Da’. Yet you come to West Bengal seeking votes, like a bird longing for an open sky. To whom do you entrust this hope? Only Lord Rama would know. Not only the greatest luminaries of our country, you have also insulted the scheme itself. In 2015, someone said on the floor of Lok Sabha about MGNREGS, and I quote “गि्ढे खोदने की स्कीम”. I would like to remind the Treasury Benches. I am sure they prefer not to remember it, but let me remind who it was. It was none other than our hon. Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Damodardas Modi. He was the one who said, “गि्ढेखोदनेकी स्कीम”. You hate the poor. You hate the marginalised. You hate the weak. This is the true brand of your politics and you hate the people of West Bengal. When you could not defeat us politically in the last six elections, you deprived us of the funds which were genuinely owed to our State. Basically, you are anti-federal in the truest sense. Prior to the suspension of fund release in 2022, West Bengal was among the top-performing States under MGNREGA, with approximately 1.37 crore rural households receiving employment. Since March, 2022, you have not released funds to West Bengal. Sir, 59 lakh registered MGNREGA workers in West Bengal have been deprived of wage payments for over three years, directly impacting rural livelihoods and household income security. Sir, I have seven minutes. You owe us Rs. 52,000 crore, just on the MNREGA account. If you do not want to listen to us, at least, listen to the highest courts of the land. You have deprived people of their rightful wages. They have worked honestly; you have not paid them. It is inhumane. You owe West Bengal a total of Rs. 2 lakh crore. First, you clear MGNREGA dues, then talk about Bills with new names and clauses. I must point out the funding pattern of this Bill. Earlier, the funding pattern was 90:10; 90 per cent by the Union Government and 10 per cent by the States. But, now, you have changed it where States will need to pay 40 per cent of the funds. It does not matter for West Bengal. You did not pay the labourers in our State their rightful wages under the 100 days’ work guarantee scheme. Our Honourable Chief Minister, Smt. Mamata Banerjee, has paid the entire amount from the State treasury.You have given a mandatory 60-day off-period. You are imposing 60 days of forced unemployment on them. You have made a National Level Steering Committee to determine how much employment will be given in which State. However, you have not included any representation from the States. Sir, I will just conclude. When three out of 10 workers are not eligible for the Aadhaar payment system, why are you forcing a payment system that deprives workers? Most importantly, you could have increased the wages for the workers, but you choose not to. This reveals your true intentions. Hence, you must send this Bill to a Parliamentary Committee, as you have a terrible track record of passing Bills without scrutiny. So, we insist that the Bill be sent to a Parliamentary Committee. Earlier, eight out of 10 Bills would go for scrutiny; now, sadly, only two out of 10 Bills are scrutinized. Please do not insult the Parliament like this. I am opposing this Bill on the floor of the House. My leader, Shrimati Mamata Banerjee, and Shri Abhishek Banerjee will oppose you on the streets of Delhi and Bengal time and again. … Sir, please let me conclude. I come from a Party whose Chairperson went on a 26-day hunger strike against forceful land acquisition, fighting for the rights of the farmers. Come to Bengal in 2026. The people of Bengal will deliver an appropriate answer to you. Joy Bangla!
