Gadkari arrives in Panaji for BJP legislature meet
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Panaji: Union minister Nitin Gadkari arrived in Goa in the early hours of Monday by a midnight flight to decide on the leadership issue in the state following the demise of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Parrikar (63) died on Sunday evening at his residence near here after battling pancreatic cancer for over a year.
Gadkari, who had successfully managed to cobble together a coalition in the state under the leadership of Parrikar in 2017, will be holding discussions with the BJP Goa legislature wing during the night.
The senior leader is also scheduled to meet alliance partners, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Goa Forward Party and Independents, who had given support to the Parrikar-led government.
"The new chief minister will be sworn in by tomorrow morning," a senior BJP functionary said.
Asked if they would continue to support the BJP, the alliance partners said "no one should not be taken for granted" as their support was to Parrikar when the government was formed in 2017.
Parrikar, who was the then Union defence minister, had taken over the reigns of the state after the BJP failed to get a majority in the 2017 Goa Legislative Assembly election.
"No one can be taken for granted. But we all want this government to survive. No one can afford the dissolution of the assembly or keeping the House in suspended animation," Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai told reporters here Sunday evening after a meeting that was attended by leaders of his party, the MGP and Independents.
Sardesai said the alliance partners will take a stand only after the BJP legislative party decides its leader.
BJP MLA Michael Lobo asserted that the next chief minister has to be from the BJP. "The next CM will have to be amongst BJP MLAs," he said.
MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar, however, said nothing was finalised and a decision on leadership would be taken only after meeting Gadkari.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Sunday evening wrote a fresh letter to state Governor Mridula Sinha, staking claim to form the government.
Stating that it is the single largest party in the state, the Congress said it should be invited by the governor to form the government.
The Congress is currently the single largest party in the state with 14 MLAs, while the BJP has 12 in the 40-member Goa assembly. The Goa Forward Party, MGP and Independents have three MLAs each, while the NCP has one legislator.
The strength of the House has been reduced to 36 due to the demise of BJP MLA Francis D'Souza earlier this year, and Parrikar on Sunday, and the resignations of two Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte last year.
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In open letter, RJD MP appeals to parliamentarians to oppose VB-G RAM G Bill
New Delhi (PTI): Invoking Gandhi's Talisman of remembering the face of the poorest person while taking decisions, RJD MP Manoj Jha on Thursday wrote an open letter to fellow lawmakers appealing to them to defend the MGNREGA, and opposed the VB-G RAM G Bill that seeks to replace it.
Jha shared the letter on X,and said, "Appeal to fellow members in Parliament to save MGNREGA, which was not merely a government programme but a moral commitment made by the Indian Republic to its poorest citizens. It embodies the constitutional promise of dignity, livelihood, and social justice."
The Rajya Sabha MP invoked Gandhi's talisman to make his case.
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"He urged us to remember the face of the poorest and weakest person we have seen, and to ask whether the action we are about to take would be of any use to that person whether it would restore to them control over their own life," Jha said.
"He believed that if our action met that test, all doubts would dissolve. That talisman was meant to guide every decision in public life. I write to you today with that principle in mind," he said.
He urged MPs to oppose the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha.
"While the Lok Sabha has held discussion till late night yesterday, I urge you to oppose this move in our House," he said, adding that the appeal is "non-partisan".
"MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) was enacted in 2005 with the support of all major political parties. The House then acknowledged a shared constitutional obligation: that the right to work with dignity is integral to our democracy," he said.
He also quoted Article 41 of the Constitution, stating that it directs the State to secure the right to work and to provide public assistance in cases of unemployment and undeserved want. "MGNREGA translated this directive into a justiciable legal guarantee. The proposed bill dismantles that guarantee."
He said while the government claims that the new framework will provide 125 days of work instead of 100, the claim is misleading.
"Unlike MGNREGA, which was demand-driven, the new Bill makes employment dependent on central allocations and administrative discretion. Its coverage is no longer universal but limited to areas notified by the central government," he said.
"At a time when even MGNREGA workers received only 50-55 days of work annually due to inadequate funding, the promise of additional days without assured resources lacks credibility," he added.
Jha also objected to the provision that the cost would be shared 60:40 between the Centre and the state, and said it will place an unsustainable burden on many states, leading to exclusion and contraction.
"MGNREGA has its shortcomings, but they arise from failures of implementation, not from the law itself. Over two decades, it has provided crucial support during periods of distress, enhanced women's participation in the workforce, and upheld the principle of work as a right. not a favour".
Jha said the law should be strengthened, and "repealing it" without consultation or consensus is not reform but a "retreat from constitutional responsibility".
"I appeal to you, as fellow legislators, to defend a law born of democratic consensus and moral clarity. Let us stand by the principle that every hand deserves work and every worker deserves dignity," he said. "The poorest citizens of our country are watching our choices."
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. It provides for 125 days of work and aims to establish a rural development framework.
Opposition parties and activists have opposed the Bill. Several opposition MPs have said the Bill, which will have far-reaching implications for rural employment, should be sent to a parliamentary panel.
Appeal to fellow members in Parliament to save MGNREGA, which was not merely a government programme but a moral commitment made by the Indian Republic to its poorest citizens. It embodies the constitutional promise of dignity, livelihood, and social justice.
— Manoj Kumar Jha (@manojkjhadu) December 18, 2025
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