Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Congress on Monday claimed that the Narendra Modi government has “stopped talking about 2025” and is now “selling dreams of 2047”, as it spent the past 11 years “rubbing the ink of dictatorship on every page of the Constitution”.
As the Modi government completed the first year in its third term, the Congress also released two booklets by party’s Research Department headed by M Rajeev Gowda, which claimed ‘Make in India’ has become ‘Fake in India’ and ‘Startup India’ has become ‘Shutdown India’ while the NDA has become ‘No Data Available Sarkar’ instead of National Democratic Alliance.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said 11 years of Modi government meant “no accountability, no change, only propaganda” and “the government has stopped talking about 2025 and is now selling dreams of 2047. Who will see what the country is facing today?”
In a post on ‘X’, he said the “reality of the country is reflected in the tragic news” of a train accident in Mumbai when the government is “celebrating 11 years of service”.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the BJP-RSS “weakened” every constitutional institution and rights of states were ignored by weakening federal structure while there were “continuous efforts to spread hatred, threats and fear” in the society.
“In the last 11 years, the Modi government has caused severe damage to Indian democracy, economy and social fabric…Over the past 11 years, the Modi government has spent its time rubbing the ink of dictatorship on every page of the Constitution,” he posted on ‘X’.
Calling the “unending violence” in Manipur the “biggest proof of the administrative failure” of the BJP, Kharge alleged there was “stealing (of) public opinion” and “toppling governments through the back door or forcibly imposing one-party dictatorship”. He said exploitation of Dalits, tribals, backward, minority and weaker sections have “increased continuously” while there was a “conspiracy” to deprive them of reservation and equal rights.
On economy, Kharge also claimed the BJP-RSS made the country's GDP growth rate “habituated to 5-6 per cent, which used to be 8 per cent on average” during the UPA regime while crores of jobs were taken away from the youth instead of a promise to two crore jobs every year.
“Due to inflation, public savings were the lowest in 50 years and economic inequality was the highest in 100 years. Demonetisation, wrong GST, unplanned lock-down and by hammering the unorganised sector, the future of crores of people was ruined…Only the ribbons of the infrastructure built by Congress-UPA were cut,” Kharge added.
Releasing the booklets ‘11 Saal, Jhothe Vikas Ke Vade’ and ‘Ek Aur Baar Jumla Sarkar, Promises Vs Reality: One Year of Modi 3.0’, Gowda told a press conference that private sector was not investing in the country despite giving tax benefits because they have “lost confidence” in the government.
He said the government has claimed that over 5,000 items have been added to the defence indigenisation lists but 40% of the items remain not indigenised. Out of 55 Mission Mode DRDO projects, he said, 23 were delayed.