'Ayogya body': Congress slams NITI Aayog meeting as exercise in hypocrisy and diversion

'What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if the values that India always stood for are systematically assaulted in full glare of the world?', Ramesh asked.

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday called NITI Aayog an “Ayogya (incompetent)” body while claiming that its Governing Council meeting was an “attempt at hypocrisy and diversion”, prompting a sharp retort from the BJP.

Ramesh said the Governing Council was meeting under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the “so-called 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) goal” and raised a series of questions, including what sort of ‘Viksit Bharat’ would it be if those in power themselves destroy the bonds of social harmony by their “malicious words and deeds”.

He also asked what sort of ‘Viksit Bharat’ would it be if those in power “subvert” Parliament, judiciary, universities, media, and Constitutional and statutory authorities to fulfill their nefarious goals.

“What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if the values that India always stood for are systematically assaulted in full glare of the world? What sort of ‘Viksit Bharat’ will it be with sharpening economic disparities and inequalities even as wealth continues to accumulate in the hands of a few?” he said.

“What kind of developed India will it be if its wonderful diversity is deliberately disrespected and erased? What kind of developed India is this where not just the freedom of expression but also the freedom after expression is in danger. Today’s meeting of Niti Aayog, the most incompetent body ever, is yet another attempt at hypocrisy and diversion,” Ramesh added.

BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain targeted the Congress leader for his remarks and said Ramesh would “finish off” his party with his “tendency to create controversy over some or other issues”.

“This is a meeting of Team India to take decisions for the country's development. Jairam Ramesh is finding fault in this too...Jairam Ramesh Congress ki Ram Ram kar ke hi chodenge (Jairam Ramesh will finish off the Congress),” Ramesh was quoted by PTI as saying.

“NITI Aayog is a big institution of the country. It makes policies for the country. In its meeting, eminent people, including chief ministers, are sitting together to make the country develop. The Congress has started objecting to it also,” Hussain said.