Mallikarjun Kharge and PM Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI File Photos
Ahmedabad: The Congress on Wednesday accused the Narendra Modi government of systematically eliminating competition across sectors to pave the way for monopolies, duopolies and oligopolies manned by two or three favoured industrialists while the "real job creators", the MSME sector, have been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.
According to the 'Nyay Path' resolution adopted at the AICC Session here, the policy of economic liberalisation with inclusive growth pursued by the Congress governments provided a sound economic edifice for the nation “has been overturned in the past decade” by the Modi government which "bulldozed the rights-based paradigm" to "subserve the economic interests of a handful of crony capitalist friends".
"The current government is systematically eliminating competition across sectors to pave the way for monopolies, duopolies and oligopolies manned by two or three favoured industrialists. On the contrary, MSMEs, the real job creators, have been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. The cheap and highly subsidized import of Chinese goods has further destroyed the financial viability of our MSMEs," it said.
It said the Congress firmly believes that the revival, protection and promotion of MSMEs and mid-level industries is paramount for job creation and the growth of domestic manufacturing. Congress envisions an economy where a broad base of entrepreneurs and manufacturers thrive and genuine competition breaks the grip of a handful of state-sponsored monopolists.
"India must also establish our leadership position in future-friendly technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Drones, Battery Storage, Blockchain Technology, Renewable Energy, and Emerging Energy Resources to reclaim our space in the league of nations," it said.
Referring to the income inequality in India, it said the refusal to conduct Census after 2011 has led to the denial of food security to 11 crore people while 1 per cent of the richest Indians own over 40 per cent of the country's wealth. "Wealth disparity is so extreme that 10 per cent of richest Indians now own 70 per cent of the nation's wealth. Tragically, the bottom 50 per cent of the poor and the middle class possess only 6.4 per cent of the nation's wealth," it said.
Claiming that the "gravely flawed" economic policies have broken the back of the common man, the resolution said the soaring prices of essential goods have made them unaffordable for crores of ordinary households.
"Rampant unemployment is now the nation's biggest epidemic as the unemployment touches a 45-year high. Nearly 30 lakh government jobs are lying vacant. Resultantly, our 'demographic dividend' is turning into 'demographic disaster, with our literate but unemployed young men and women being driven towards drugs and psychotropic substances owing to lack of opportunities," it said.
It said the "ideological somersaults" and "policy about-turns" symbolised the character of the current BJP regime. "Their opportunist ‘about-turn’ is evidenced by BJP's strong opposition to 'Direct Benefit Transfer' (DBT). Aadhar, GST, FDI in retail, FDI in defence, Indo-US Nuclear Deal, when in opposition and becoming the stout champions of the same policies, when in power."