Opposition leaders slam Centre over lack of jobs, price rise

The Opposition on Wednesday targeted the Narendra Modi-government in Rajya Sabha, asking where is "ache din" (good days), why is the Prime Minister not showing the 'laal ankh' (red eye) to China and why it the dispensation is not holding true to its promise of doubling farmers' income among others.

Utilising the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Opposition MPs alleged that the government has failed to control price rise and provide jobs while it is busy impinging on the federal structure of the country.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the President's Address was supposed to be a vision statement but there was no vision and it was not a policy statement as it just repeated what the government did in the past seven-eight years, "except for some change in language from previous speeches".

He accused the government of not allowing citizens to tell the truth and "if they tell the truth, they are called anti-nationals".

"Your work is less but publicity is more. You (government) keep on saying things which are far from the truth. Whenever your political opponent points out to your follies, you say that religion is in danger. There is a lack of employment opportunities because investment is not coming, factories are closing down.. where are the good days?" Kharge said.

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Charging the government with not delivering on its various promises, including generating two crore jobs per year, Kharge said unemployment is rising in the country. "In 2014, you (BJP) promised 2 crore jobs every year. You should have provided 15 crore jobs by now. But how many jobs did you actually provide? This year's Budget promises just 60 lakh jobs in the next 5 years. At the time of elections, you say two crore," he said.

"The price rise is tremendous. This is your 'ache din'. There is inflation, rising unemployment. You have not delivered on your promises. Where is 'ache din'? he said.

Referring to the border row with China, Kharge recalled Modi's 2013 statement asking the UPA government why it was not showing the 'laal ankh' and said, "why you are not showing your red eyes to China. You are on silent mode on China."

He also accused the Modi government of using central agencies against political opponents and said, "if people from this (Opposition) side joins you, all the cases against them are closed."

Trinamool Congress' Sukhendu Shekhar Roy referred to the Pegasus issue and the recent revelation by The New York Times, saying the government of India stands in "splendid isolation with truth" about the controversial Israeli spyware.

He also said the government issued a "fatwa" to arbitrarily amend the service rules to assume sweeping powers over civil servants. This issue was echoed by DMK's Tiruchi Siva also.

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