Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Congress of shedding "crocodile tears" over the replacement of MGNREGA with the VB-G RAM G Act. "The Congress's clamour is purely political...This is the same Congress that, from time to time, reduced the budget for MGNREGA," he said. His remarks came after Congress vowed to launch the 'MGNREGA Bachao' protest from January 5.