As the countdown for Budget on July 23 gains momentum, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. He accused him of prioritising public relations over addressing critical economic issues following the June Lok Sabha poll results.
Kharge lambasted Modi for what he called neglect of basic economic concerns, alleging rampant unemployment, inflation, and inequality under the prime minister’s leadership. He claimed youth unemployment has reached crisis levels, with rates soaring to 40% among those aged 20-24.
In a post in Hindi on X, the Congress president said, “Narendra Modi ji, Your government has ruined the lives of crores of people by pushing them into the pit of unemployment, inflation and inequality.”
Listing the “failures” of the government, Kharge said that due to the unemployment rate of 9.2 per cent, the future of the youth is staring at naught.
“For people aged 20-24 years, the unemployment rate has risen to 40%, highlighting the serious crisis in the job market among the youth,” Kharge said.
Highlighting failures in government promises, Kharge cited unfulfilled pledges to double farmer incomes and questioned the efficacy of Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for crops, accusing the Modi government of using them as electoral tactics rather than effective policy measures.
The promise of doubling the income of farmers and MSP of cost plus 50 per cent has turned out to be false, he said.
Recently, on the MSP of 14 Kharif crops, the Modi government has again proved that it wants to use the MSP recommendation of the Swaminathan report only as an “election gimmick”, he claimed.
Kharge also criticized the Modi administration’s handling of public sector enterprises, noting significant job losses following privatisation efforts.
The Congress leader said, “3.84 lakh government jobs have been lost in the 7 PSUs in which the majority of government stake has been sold! This has also led to the loss of jobs for SC, ST, OBC, EWS reserved posts”.
He said 1.25 lakh people have lost government jobs in the 20 top PSUs in which the Modi government has sold a small stake since 2016.
Manufacturing as a percentage of GDP has fallen from 16.5 per cent during the UPA regime to 14.5 per cent during the Modi government, he pointed out.
“Private investment has also fallen drastically in the last 10 years. New private investment plans, which are an important part of GDP, fell to a 20-year low of only Rs 44,300 crore between April and June. Last year, private investment of Rs 7.9 lakh crore was made during this period,” he said.
Inflation at its peak: Kharge
Kharge also alleged that the havoc of inflation is at its peak. He further accused PM Modi of allowing inflation to spiral out of control, impacting household savings and exacerbating economic inequality, particularly in rural areas where unemployment rates have surged.
The prices of flour, pulses, rice, milk, sugar, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and all essential food items are skyrocketing, he noted. The result is that the household savings of families are at the lowest level in 50 years, he added.
Kharge said that economic inequality is the highest in 100 years, while wage growth in rural India is negative.
“Unemployment has increased significantly in rural areas and it has now increased from 6.3% in May to 9.3%. The average number of days of workers employed in MNREGA has decreased,” he said.
“Modi ji, It has been 10 years, you used your PR to keep the government away from the basic issues of the people, but after June 2024, this will not work anymore, the public is now demanding accountability,” Kharge said.
The Congress veteran said that the “arbitrary tampering” with the country’s economy must stop now.