Congress stages walkout from Haryana Assembly over VB-G RAM G resolution

The proceedings of the Haryana Assembly witnessed high drama on Thursday as Congress legislators staged a walkout, protesting what they described as a violation of House rules in the introduction of a resolution concerning the VB-G RAM G law.

The storm broke shortly after a motion was tabled to introduce the resolution. BJP MLA Ram Kumar Kashyap rose to read it out, but senior Congress leader B.B. Batra swiftly intervened, questioning under which rule the House was taking up the matter. Citing Rule 84 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, Batra argued that a resolution listed under this provision cannot undergo substantive alteration once moved.

The speaker, however, maintained that the House is empowered to deliberate on any issue it deems fit. Unconvinced, Congress members rose in protest and walked out.

Later, deputy leader of the Congress Legislative Party Aftab Ahmed and chief whip B.B. Batra issued a joint statement alleging that the resolution’s wording had been fundamentally altered. What was originally framed as a discussion on extending employment guarantee from 100 days to 125 days under the Viksit Bharat G-RAM-G scheme, they said, had been recast to address “confusion” surrounding the scheme’s provisions. Such a transformation, they contended, was impermissible under Rule 84.

“The interpretation of the rules governs the dignity and discipline of the House,” the statement read. “When a proposal is not maintainable under the rules, discussion upon it cannot be legally sustained.” The boycott, they insisted, was not an evasion of debate but a stand to preserve parliamentary tradition and uphold the sanctity of the rulebook.

The Congress leaders clarified that they were not averse to discussing either the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the VB-G RAM G scheme, provided such deliberations were conducted within the established framework—either under proper procedural rules or during the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address.

Responding sharply on the floor of the House, chief minister Nayab Singh Saini asserted that under the VB-G RAM G law, beneficiaries are entitled to 125 days of work — an expansion from the 100 days provided during the UPA-era MGNREGA.

Parliamentary affairs minister Mahipal Dhanda echoed the charge, accusing the Congress of fuelling confusion about the scheme among the public.

What unfolded in the Assembly was not merely a dispute over procedure, but a clash of interpretations — of rules, of policy, and of political symbolism — reflecting the charged atmosphere that now envelops the debate over rural employment in Haryana.

With PTI inputs