Marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 11 years in power at the Centre, Congress on Monday released a scathing booklet titled ‘11 Saal, Jhoothe Vikaas ke Vaade’, accusing the BJP-led government of stagnated economic growth, deepening hunger and unkept promises.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote the booklet was launched to commemorate “some of the biggest lies of this Government”. At a press conference, AICC research department head and former MP Rajeev Gowda, who compiled the document, said the initiative was part of the Congress’s responsibility as the Opposition to “reveal the grim reality behind the propaganda and fake news”.
Two documents released by Cong
Gowda said the party had released two sets of documents namely, ‘Ek Aur Baar Jumla Sarkar’, analysing the BJP’s 2024 manifesto and promises made since and ‘11 Saal Jhoothe Vikaas ke Vaade’, which presents a detailed critique of the Modi government’s track record over the past decade.
“The BJP claims credit for feeding 81 crore people under PMGKAY,” Gowda noted. “But India ranks 105th out of 127 countries on the Global Hunger Index. Nearly a third of our children suffer from malnutrition. Stunting stands at 35.5%, wasting at 19.3%, and 32.1% of children are underweight,” he said.
He further criticised the government’s education and tribal welfare initiatives, particularly the claim of having created four times more Eklavya Model Residential Schools since 2014. “Out of 700+ schools announced, 300 remain non-functional. Is it rocket science to set up and run a school?” Gowda asked.
The Congress leader also questioned the Centre’s assertions on defence indigenisation. “They say India has added over 5,000 items to the indigenisation list. But 40% of these are still not indigenised. India remains among the top defence importers globally,” Gowha further said.
He added that out of 55 DRDO projects launched in mission mode, 23 have faced delays and the share of research and development in the defence budget remains “a mere 5.45%”.
With this pointed critique, Congress has intensified its efforts to challenge the Modi government’s narrative ahead of upcoming political battles, aiming to shift focus onto what it calls “the ground realities of India’s development”.
‘Fastest-growing large economy untrue’
Neither is the claim that India was the fastest-growing large economy was true, he said.
“This is true, but what rate are we growing? Are we able to encash our demographic dividend? Any economist will tell you that if we grow below 8.5 per cent a year, we are sacrificing the future of crores and crores of our youngsters because we will not have enough growth, jobs and opportunities that are required to just fulfil the target—the great jumla — 2 crores jobs per year,” he claimed.
He said India’s growth is 6.5 per cent over the last year, which is the lowest rate after the COVID period.
“So, what is happening in this 11th year of your Sarkaar, PM Modi? What is happening is reflected in the response of the private sector. Is the Indian private sector investing in India? If you look at the investment figures, after you have given the bonanza tax cut, nothing has changed. They still don’t have confidence in the management of your economy to invest,” the Congress leader said.
(With inputs from PTI)