Congress comes out with 7-point ‘chargesheet’

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 30

The Congress on Sunday described the BJP government's seven-year rule as one that inflicted pain and betrayed people's aspirations by "failing to manage the Covid pandemic, securing the borders, controlling inflation, safeguarding farmers' interests and handling the economy".

Unveiling a seven-point "chargesheet" as the PM Narendra Modi-led government completed seven years in office, the Congress said, "Time has come to ask why a pseudo-nationalist government utterly failed to defend our borders and push back the Chinese from our territory."

"You need the right intention, policy and determination to fight corona, not just pointless talk once in a month," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said. Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said the past seven years had been a story of unprecedented devastation, abdication of responsibility and abandonment of India's people by the government. He listed seven blunders by the BJP government related to economy, unemployment, inflation, Covid mismanagement, disregard for middle and low income groups, national security and farmers.

"The systematic destruction of the Indian economy has forced a deceleration. The Indian economy registered a technical recession for the first time since Independence. The growth in per capita income has been slowing since 2016-17 and Bangladesh has a better per capital income than us," Surjewala noted.

He said the BJP dispensation had promised two crore jobs every year but actually India saw the worst unemployment in 45 years in 2019.

The Congress also cornered the government on inflation saying the prices of essential commodities had hit the roof. "When Modi government assumed power in 2014, the international crude oil prices were $108 per barrel, petrol prices were Rs 71.51 per litre and diesel was Rs 57.28 per litre. Today, the crude oil prices have fallen by 40 per cent but petrol prices have increased by 32 per cent to Rs 93.94 per litre; diesel prices increased by 48 per cent to Rs 84.89 per litre," Surjewala said.

The Congress reiterated its charge of Covid mismanagement. The Opposition party also accused the government of surrendering India's strategic interests to China and betraying the farmers by refusing to repeal the three controversial agriculture reform laws.

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