Both the Houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, were adjourned sine die on Friday, bringing to an end the Winter Session.
Just before being adjourned sine die, Parliament passed a key legislation that caused a major uproar – the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, which seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The Rajya Sabha passed the bill past midnight on Thursday, while the Lok Sabha had approved it earlier in the day amid Opposition uproar. Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, staged an overnight dharna inside the Parliament complex against the passage of the VB-G RAM G Bill.
Watch | Lok Sabha adjourned sine die, marking the end of the Winter Session, which began on December 1 and concluded today after 15 sittings over 19 days.@sansad_tv | @ombirlakota | @LokSabhaSectt | @loksabhaspeaker | @mpa_india | #WinterSession | #LokSabha |… pic.x.com/FcVYPZtQc1
— United News of India (@uniindianews) December 19, 2025
As Parliament was adjourned sine die, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi posted on X and said the Narendra Modi government has demolished 20 years of MGNREGA in one day. He said the bill was bulldozed through Parliament without any proper scrutiny.
‘Insult to the poor’: Opposition holds overnight dharna against VB-G RAM G Bill replacing MGNREGA
“Last night, the Modi government demolished twenty years of MGNREGA in one day. VB–G RAM G isn’t a ‘revamp’ of MGNREGA. It demolishes the rights-based, demand-driven guarantee and turns it into a rationed scheme which is controlled from Delhi. It is anti-state and anti-village by design.
“…this law was bulldozed through Parliament without proper scrutiny. The opposition demand to send the bill to a Standing Committee was rejected. A law that rewires the rural social contract, affecting crores of workers should never be rammed through without serious committee scrutiny, expert consultation, and public hearings,” Gandhi alleged on X.
The Congress leader accused PM Modi of targeting labour, rural India, and backward classes through the new bill, which he described as “anti-village”.
TMC’s O’Brien slams Govt’s ‘mockery’ of Parliament over replacing MGNREGA Bill
“MGNREGA is among the most successful poverty alleviation and empowerment programmes in the world. We will not let this government destroy the rural poor’s last line of defence. We will stand with workers, panchayats, and states to defeat this move and build a nationwide front to ensure this law is withdrawn,” he further wrote.
Rahul’s sister and Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the new legislation will prove to be “very harmful” for the poorest of the poor. She said the original MGNREGA scheme allowed for the Centre to fund 90 per cent of unskilled employment, while this has been changed under the new bill.
“It was a scheme which was the backbone of the economy, and it has helped poor people who were having difficulty getting employment. This new form of the bill, when you cut down so much funding from the Centre, is very harmful because the states are not going to be able to afford it,” she told reporters outside Parliament after both houses were adjourned sine die.
Mamata slams BJP over MGNREGA name change row, rechristens Bengal job scheme after Mahatma Gandhi
Priyanka also rued the fact that Parliament could not debate the pollution issue, which had been listed for discussion.
“A discussion on pollution couldn’t be held in this session. It should have happened. I have given a written petition too that a discussion on this should be held in the next session,” she added.
It may be noted that the Winter Session began on December 1 and was scheduled to conclude today, December 19, with a total of 15 sittings.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said while adjourning the Lower House, “The productivity of the House has been 111% this session. All the members have cooperated to allow the House to function.”