PANAJI
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Saturday sought to puncture the Modi government's claims of achievements on its ninth anniversary by raising the Centre's failure to control inflation, unemployment and on its defence failure in yielding land on the Indo-China border.Nirupam, a former Rajya Sabha member was in Goa and addressed a press conference at the Congress' headquarters where he claimed inflation and unemployment had skyrocketed.
"Economic situation has worsened in the last nine years of Narendra Modi government," Nirupam said, arguing that the government only worked in the interest of its crony capitalists.
"Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer?,” questioned the former MP who was flanked by Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao and the party's two other legislators -- Carlos Ferreira-Alvares and Altone D'Costa besides GPCC chief Amit Patkar.
“This government is not for the poor but for rich people. It has completely failed on the economic front. It couldn’t help poor people and bring down prices and helped only capitalists,” he said.
LPG cylinder price nine years ago was around Rs 400 but it is now Rs 1100 he said and also cited the cost of petrol and diesel to buttress his argument against the government on prices.
He also raised the issue of distress among farmers claiming that input cost is increasing every passing day even as the government failed to give subsidies and other help.
“Did this government waive the loans of farmers,” he questioned while raising the Adani controversy to highlight that the Centre has only helped businessmen and failed the poor.
On the question of black money, a major plank Modi campaigned in 2014, Nirupam said the government has on the contrary patronised fugitive defaulters who borrowed Rs 68,000 crore from banks and ran away.
He also questioned the Modi government's track record on maintaining the country's social harmony arguing that in the last nine years, atrocities against SCs, STs, minorities and women had increased manifold.
