Several MPs accused the Centre of dismantling a rights-based welfare scheme and undermining Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy. They also demanded that the Bill, which seeks to replace the two-decade-old MGNREGA, be referred to a standing committee.

Leading the Opposition attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi warned that the proposed law would dilute the legal guarantee of employment and place a heavier financial burden on states. She alleged that the Bill would give the Centre the power to pre-determine fund allocation, effectively ending the demand-driven nature of the scheme and violating the spirit of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.

The TMC and the DMK, echoed the criticism, objecting to the removal of Gandhi’s name and the shift from a demand-driven to a supply-driven framework.

After staging a walkout, Opposition leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and DMK MP T.R. Baalu, protested at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the Parliament complex, raising slogans such as “the country will not tolerate this insult to Mahatma Gandhi.”