New Delhi, June 9 -- As the Modi government 3.0 completed two years, the Congress on Tuesday released a "promise versus reality" document and said that over the last 12 years, promises have been accompanied by big announcements, grand statements and headlines but in reality none of that translated into transforming the lives of the people.
Congress leaders Rajeev Gowda and Amitabh Dubey released AICC Research Department's 75-page document to rebut what it said was government's "prachar (propaganda)" on economy, jobs, foreign policy, energy, environment, climate change, agriculture, MSMEs, infrastructure, urban development, social sector, civil liberties and minorities governance and law.
Addressing a press conference with party colleague Dubey, AICC Research Department head Gowda said the Modi government has announced that it is cutting the number of LPG cylinders provided to Ujjwala beneficiaries from nine to four when just ten years ago, it was announced that the women of India would no longer have to rely on dangerous and harmful methods of cooking, and promised 12 cylinders for every beneficiary of the Ujjwala programme.
"Last year, the 12 cylinders were cut to 9. Today, on the anniversary of his swearing-in as Prime Minister for the third time, he has chosen to strike this blow against the women and families of India," Gowda said.
Over the last 12 years, promises have been accompanied by big announcements, grand statements, and headlines, he said.
"But the reality is that none of those headlines actually translate into anything that is meaningfully transforming the lives of the people," the Congress leader said.
Noting that the Modi government promised to transform Bharat into a global centre for employment generation but the reality is that four out of ten graduates remain unemployed.
"The urban youth unemployment rate is 18.4 per cent, and only 7 per cent of unemployed graduates secure a permanent salaried job within a year," he said.
On the government's promise of giving equal opportunities for all, Gowda said, "We were ranked 108th in the Global Gender Gap Index. Now, we have fallen to 131st in the world. So, we are failing one half of our population by not creating opportunities for women to enter the workforce."
Noting that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises are the backbone and the job creators of the Indian economy, Gowda said that in the last financial year, 40,000 MSMEs shut down.
"The damage caused by demonetisation continues, and the MSMEs sector continues to bear the brunt," he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.