Opposition leaders staged a 12-hour overnight protest dharna in Parliament complex on Thursday night, while protesting against the passage of the VB-G RAM G bill that seeks to replace the MGNREGA rural employment programme and said they would take to the streets across the country. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose accused the Union government of bulldozing the VB- G RAM G bill, as opposition MPs sat on a 12-hour dharna in the Parliament complex.

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed by Parliament amid opposition`s protests, with the Rajya Sabha giving it its nod post midnight. Ghose said the manner in which the Modi government has brought in this completely "anti-poor, anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-rural poor" VBGRG bill, and has done away with the MGNREGA. "This is an insult to India`s poor, it is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi, it is an insult to Rabindranath Tagore. With just five hours` notice, this bill was given to us. We were not allowed a proper debate," Ghose said.