SHILLONG, MAY 27: The opposition Congress on Saturday said these 9 years of Narendra Modi led government has exposed the lies of the BJP.
“The people of India remembers very well the lofty promises made by Modi – the promise of Ache Din, 15 lakhs in bank accounts of every citizens of India, 2 crore jobs every year to unemployed youths and many more,” AICC media coordinator and vice president Assam Pradesh Congress Committee Bobbeeta Sharma told reporters.
“The people of India believed him. Trusted him. But Modi has betrayed this trust that people had placed on him. Instead, his government has been replete with corruption, crony capitalism, sky rocketing price rise, unemployment and continued attack on democratic principles of our country,” she said.
The Congress also pose 9 questions to Narendra Modi led BJP government on completion of 9 years.
It asked why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India? Why have the rice become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modi’s friends, even as economic disparities are increasing.
The Congress also wanted to know why is it that the agreements made with farmers while repealing the three black farm laws have not been honoured? Why has MSP not been legally guaranteed? Why didn’t farmers income double over the last 9 years?
The party also asked Modi government why are you putting people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit your friend Adani? Why are you letting thieves escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BJP-ruled states, and why are you letting Indians suffer?
On China and national security, Sharma said the party is asking why is it that even after your clean chit to China in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian territory? 18 meetings have been held with China, yet why do they refuse to yield Indian territory and instead continue with their aggressive tactics?
“Why are you deliberately using the politics of hatred for electoral gains and fueling an atmosphere of fear in society? Why is it that your oppressive government is methodically destroying the foundations of social justice? Why are you silent on the atrocities against women, dalits, SC, ST, OBCs and minorities? Why are you ignoring the demand for a caste census? Why have you weakened our constitutional values and democratic institutions in the last nine years? Why are you practicing the politics of revenge against opposition parties and leaders? And why are you using blatant money power to destabilize governments elected by the people? Why is it that schemes for the welfare of the poor, needy and tribals are being weakened by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules? Why is it that despite the tragiv deaths of over 40 lakh people due to Covid-19, the Modi government has refused to compensate their families? Why did you suddenly impose a lockdown which forced lakhs of workers to return home, and not provide any support?”
Further, Sharma also slammed the Modi government for its demonetisation exercise.
“6 years after PM Modi’s disastrous demonetisation, the economic effects continue to haunt the country. None of the ever-changing goals of the exercise have been met. Black money remains, and there’s no evidence that demonetisation affected it,” she said.
“Corruption abounds as the BJP’s 40% sarkara in Karnataka showed. The country did not even become cashless. In fact, cash in circulation has increased between 2016 ans 2022 by 71% to 30 lakh crores in 2022. As a share of the country’s GDP, cash has increased to 13.7% in March 2022 from 11.6% in March 2014. The costs of this blunder were severe. More than 1.5 million jobs were estimated to be lost in the first four months of 2017, mainly in small businesses and the informal sector. Over a hundred people died. The 6 Modi government has still not learnt the lesson – the scrapping of the Rs 2000 note is yet another painful reminder,” she said.
The Congress leader also said that PM Modi has completely failed in his promise to create 2 crore jobs every year.
In fact, the country is facing a severe crisis of employment today. The proportion of Indians looking for work has fallen from 53% in 2014 to 48% by Dec 2022, showing that crores of people have stopped looking for work. This was true even before the COVID-19 pandemic, which only accelerated the trend. Even amongst those looking for work, many are unable to find work, especially youth. Experts estimate that between 30-40% of youth are unemployed, and unemployment is highest in youth who hold degrees,” she said adding that this is a tragedy which is crippling the future of our country.
Jobs are moving away from formal and high income to low income and vulnerable ones. Between 2017-18, the proportion of workers holding salaried jobs with regular wages fell by 1.5% while vulnerable and unpaid “helpers in household enterprises” grew by over 3%. At the same time, wages have stagnated. Experts using government data estimate that between 2015- 23, wages for agricultural labour grew only by 0.9% per year, for non-agricultural labourers by 0.2% a year, and for construction workers actually reduced slightly
Sharma said the Modi government’s tenure has seen an unprecedented reduction in incomes. The NSSO data which the PM suppressed shows consumer spending falling for the first time since 1973, from ₹1,501 in 2011-12 to ₹1,446 in 2017- 7 18. Experts show that the poverty levels are likely much higher than government claims, since urban poverty rose by 2 percentage points during the 2016 demonetisation, and rural poverty has stopped reducing since 2019.
She said falling incomes at a time of rising costs has resulted in greater hunger and malnutrition. The number of hungry Indians increased from 19 crores in 2018 to 35 crores in 2022. India’s children have the highest rate of malnutrition, measured by weight-for-height, at 19.3%, worse than in 2014 at 15.1%.
She said while the poor are growing poorer and hungrier, the rich are growing richer. 40% of the wealth created in India from 2012-2021 went to only 1% of the population. When the country suffered through COVID-19 between 2020 and 2022, the total number of billionaires in India increased from 102 to 166 billionaires. The PM’s favourite and favoured businessman, Gautam Adani, saw his wealth increase 14 times between 2017 and 2022, and climbed from rank 106 to rank 2.
