• Randeep Singh Surjewala

1. ‘Economy’ became a ‘Hell-onomy’ (i) When the Modi government came to power in 2014, it inherited an average GDP growth rate of 8.1 per cent during the Congress tenure. But even before the Corona epidemic, due to the financial mismanagement of the Modi government, the rate of GDP fell to 4.2 percent in the year 2019-20. The country is going through an economic slowdown for the first time in 73 years. In the first quarter of the year 2020-21, the rate of GDP fell to minus 24.1 percent (-24.1 percent). Recently, it is minus 7.5 percent (-7.5 percent) in the second quarter of 2020-21. According to the estimates, the GDP rate will be minus 8 percent (-8 percent) in the year 2020-21. (ii) There was an increase of 10.6 per cent in the country’s per capita income rate in 2016-17, which fell to 6.1 per cent in 2019-20 even before the pandemic. In the year 2020-21, the per capita income is estimated to fall further to 5.4 percent. (iii) Even Bangladesh is ahead of India when it comes to the rate of per capita income. Bangladesh’s per capita income in the year 2020-21 was estimated at USD 2,227. In contrast, India’s per capita income was estimated at USD 1,947 only. (iv) Another matter of deep concern is that according to the IMF, India’s GDP-debt ratio has increased from 34 per cent in 2019 to 90 per cent at the end of 2020. It is clear that due to criminal financial mismanagement and embezzlement, the Modi government has thrown the country into a vicious pit of debt. (v) The so-called package of 20 lakh crores to boost the economy after the unplanned lockdown proved to be a mere ‘Jumla’. Remember, Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji had advised to boost the supply side. But the Modi government did not listen at all. The SBI Research has disclosed on the basis of a recent report of the RBI, that ‘Bank Credit Growth’ in the country has been at the lowest level in the last 59 years.

2. Rampant Unemployment has become an Epidemic (i) Modi government came to power by promising to provide two crore jobs every year. Far from providing 14 crore jobs in seven years, the country has seen the highest all-round unemployment in the last 45 years. According to the latest data from the Center for Monitoring of Indian Economy - CMIE, the unemployment rate in the country has crossed the double-digit mark and has reached 11.3 percent. (ii) According to the latest data of the CMIE, 12.20 crore people lost their employment in the times of Corona alone. Of these, more than 75 percent are daily wage workers, small workers and small shopkeepers. (iii) In April 2021 alone, 74 lakh people lost their jobs.

3. Back-breaking inflation has caused desperation (i) Corona pandemic on the one hand and inflation created by Modi on the other, both became enemies of the countrymen. Prices of food items and even oil, are skyrocketing. The most vivid example of this is that in many provinces, petrol has crossed a price mark of Rs. 100 a liter and mustard oil of Rs. 200 a liter. (ii) When the Modi government took power in May 2014, the rate of crude oil in the international market was USD 108 per barrel, the price of petrol in the country was Rs.71.51 per liter and the price of diesel was Rs. 55.49 per liter. But the Modi government has collected 24 lakh crore rupees, looting the pockets of the public in 7 years by imposing non-sensical taxes on petrol and diesel. In the last seven years, the price of crude oil has been in the range of US $ 20-65, but the price of petrol increased from Rs. 71.51 per liter in the year 2014 to Rs. 93.68 per liter (in many provinces like Madhya Pradesh it even went to Rs. 101.89 per liter) and the price of diesel increased from Rs. 55.49 per liter in 2014 to Rs. 84.61. per liter. (iii) The price of LPG has increased exorbitantly, reaching Rs. 809 per cylinder. (iv) Not only this, the limitless increase in the prices of cooking oils has spoiled the budget of every household. Between May 2020 and May 2021, the prices of cooking oils grew by over 60 to 70 per cent in a single year. The price of mustard oil has increased from Rs.115 per liter to Rs. 200 per liter. Prices of palm oil have touched Rs.138 per liter mark as againstRs. 85 per liter. The cost of sunflower oil has reached Rs. 175 per liter from Rs. 110 per liter. Vanaspati Dalda Ghee costs Rs.140 per kg as against Rs.90 per kg previously. Even the price of soybean oil is Rs.155 per liter now after being increased from Rs.100 per liter. (v) Rising prices of pulses have ruined the budget of every housewife. From May 2020 to May 2021, the price of chana dal increased from Rs. 70 per kg to Rs. 85-90 per kg in just one year, the price of tur dal has gone up to Rs.120 per kg from Rs.90 per kg and the price of masoor dal has increased from Rs.65 per kg to Rs.90 per kg. Same is the case with other food grains.

4. Arrogant Power’s Attack on Farmers (i) It is the first government in the history of independent India, which is not only filling the coffers of its few capitalist friends by snatching away livelihood of the farmers but is also tarnishing the reputation of our ‘Annadata’ brothers. If at one time they are lathi-charged, they are called terrorists at other. Their life has been filled with obstacles. As soon as assuming power in 2014, through the first ordinance, the government tried to grab the land of the farmers by changing the ‘Fair Compensation Act 2013’ of the farmers’ land. (ii) Modi ji assumed power by promising to give 50 percent profit of cost to the farmer. Despite making the promise, in 2015, by giving affidavit in the Supreme Court, they refused to give support price above 50 percent of the cost. (iii) Then in 2016, in the name of Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana, private companies were given a free hand to loot. In this scheme from 2016 Kharif to 2019-20, the center, states and farmers paid a premium of about Rs. 99,073 crores and insurance companies made a profit of Rs. 26,121 crores. (iv) In 2018, the Modi government befooled farmers once again in the name of KisanSamman Nidhi. There are 14 crore 65 lakh farmers in the country, but the Modi government is depriving about 6 crore farmers from reaping the benefits of the KisanSamman Nidhi. (v) On one hand the Modi government is saying that we are helping the farmers by giving Samman Nidhi of 6 thousand rupees per year to the farmers, but on the other hand they take out Rs. 20,000 per hectare per year by burning a hole in the pockets of farmers. In the last six years, the Modi government has increased the price of diesel from Rs. 55.49 in May 2014 to Rs. 84.61 today. That is, in seven years, an additional increase of Rs.28.12 per liter was made in the price of diesel. This is also the first government to impose tax on agriculture.By imposing 5 percent GST on fertilizers, 18 percent GST on insecticides, 12 percent GST on tractors and 12 - 18 percent GST on farming implements, a huge amount was extracted from a farmer. (vi) Modi ji talks about buying grains in large quantities at the support price of farmers in his speeches, but the truth is quite the opposite. In 2020-21, the production of wheat is 109.24 million tonnes and the production of rice is 120.32 million tonnes. The Modi government had purchased 519.97 lakh metric tonnes of rice at support price in 2019-20, which has been reduced to 481.41 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 in the event of this epidemic. Similarly, wheat, which was purchased 389.93 lakh tonnes at the support price in 2020-21, has been purchased only 271 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 till April 30. (vii) The Modi government, through three cruel black anti-farmer laws, wants to snatch the livelihood of our annadata farmers and give it away to its capitalist friends. Today, farmers are on streets for 6 months and the Modi government is not listening to them; blinded byits arrogance of power. So far, more than 500 farmers have been martyred. Why doesn’t the government end these black laws?

5. An Onslaught on the Poor and Middle Class (i) The report of the World Bank said that in the 10 years of the UPA-Congress tenure in India, 27 crore people were able to rise above the poverty line. But after 7 years of the Modi government, according to the report of the PEW Research Center, in 2020 alone, 3.20 crore people of the country are now out of the middle-class category itself. Not only this, 23 crore Indians have been once again pushed into the below poverty line category. Instead of attacking poverty, the Modi government has attacked the poor. (ii) When the experts of the whole world had been advising the Modi government to transfer money directly into the accounts of every poor, employed and middle class for the last one year, the Modi government overlooked the suggestion. The country had to suffer due to this in the form of severe unemployment and a collapsed economy as the consumption fell to a great extent. (iii) In April 2021, out of 100 per cent labourers who sought work under MGNREGA in rural areas, only 62 per cent workers got temporary employment. In the year 2020-21, out of 14.14 crore active workers of MGNREGA, only 1.5 crore got 100 days of employment. Also, the government even cut down the budget of MGNREGA in the current year 2021-22 as compared to 2020-21. (iv) Even the announcement of giving three gas cylinders free of cost to the poor under the Ujjwala scheme in the pandemic proved to be a jumla. This scheme was launched on April 01,2020, and this free cylinder scheme was secretly ended on December 31, 2020. Under this scheme, 24.4 crore cylinders were to be given free of cost, but the Modi government did not even give about 10 crore cylinders to the poor and ended the scheme. (v) In view of the threat of Corona epidemic, the Modi government announced on March 26, 2020, that Rs. 500 would be deposited in the accounts of women account holders of Jan Dhan accounts for three months i.e. April-May-June. By the way, this scheme was like a drop in the ocean and even out of this, not a single penny was put into the accounts of 2.48 crore women. Remember, the promise was to put 15 lakhs each in every account, but they even refused to put Rs. 1500 each.

6. Onslaught of Pandemic coupled with inefficiency of the government (i) Due to the mismanagement of the corona epidemic, lakhs of people in the country died. Although the official death toll is 3,22,512, the truth is frightening by manifold. The Corona pandemic took away the loved ones of millions in villages, towns and cities. But the Modi government ran away from its responsibility towards the country. (ii) There is a serious shortage of oxygen in the whole country. The country’s parliamentary committee had warned of this in November 2020. The Congress party and all the experts warned about this, but the Modi government continued to export 9000 tonnes of oxygen till January 2021. (iii) People of the country kept dying due to non-availability of Remdesivir injection, but the Modi government exported more than 11 lakh Remdesivir injections. The countrymen also had to die in the absence of injections of Tocilizumab and Dexona. The open loot of life-saving medicines continued, and the Modi government remained a deliberate spectator. (iv) When all the countries of the world were buying vaccine doses for their citizens in May 2020, the Modi government was sleeping till January 2021. Even today, only 39 crore vaccine doses have been ordered for 140 crore population of the country. In the last 132 days, the average vaccination rate for the countrymen is 15.46 lakh per day, and so far, only 20.80 crore doses of the vaccine have been administered. At this pace, the process of vaccinating all adults above the age of 18 years will be completed by May 22, 2024, i.e. in 1091 days. Can the country wait for three years to get its entire population vaccinated? In such a situation, how will the countrymen be saved from the second and the third wave of Corona? (v) The Modi government is promoting open profiteering by fixing five different prices fora vaccine. Is it in the national interest? (vi) Will the Modi government explain why 663 crore vaccines were exported from India to other countries when the vaccine was not available to the countrymen? Hasn’t this put the lives of the countrymen in danger?

7. Toying with National Security (i) Modi government has proved to be a complete failure in protecting the sovereignty and borders of the country. Far from showing its disapproval to China, the BJP government has not been able to push China back from the encroachment done inside our border in Ladakh. (ii) China continues to hold the Y-junction across the LAC inside the Indian border at Depsang Plains, which is a direct threat to India’s strategic airstrip, the Daulat Beg Oldi Air Strip. But the Modi government is silent. (iii) The Modi government made a one-sided decision to remove the Indian Army’s occupation of the strategically important mountain peaks in the Kailash Range in the Pangong Tso Lake area and create a buffer zone on this side of the LAC within the Indian border. This is directly playing with the sovereignty of India. (iv) An entire village was settled inside our border in Arunachal Pradesh by China, but the government is silent. Not only this, China, illegally, occupied the Doklam area and built metal led roads till Chicken Neck, which is a strategic threat to us. But the Modi government is silent. (v) Neither extremism nor Naxalism was controlled. On the contrary, Naxalites are carrying out deadly attacks on our security agencies every day. But the Prime Minister and the Home-Minister have no policy to deal with it. It is clear that the country is suffering due to Modi government’s failure of seven years. That is why, Modi government is detrimental to the country.

Based on Press Briefing on May 30, 2021