Congress alleges 140 crore Indians living in an era of injustice under BJP rule

Pic: PTI File

The Congress party asserted on Sunday that 140 crore Indians are enduring an era of injustice "anyaay kaal" imposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, pledging to bring justice through its proposed "nyay" agenda consisting of five pillars.

Pawan Khera, Congress spokesperson and AICC Media and Publicity chairman, criticized the BJP government for masking reality with grand events and stated that the upcoming budget would be an extension of a glossy portrayal of India.

Khera highlighted the economic challenges faced by the country, pointing out that youth from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are seeking jobs in Israel due to the lure of higher salaries. He expressed concern over the large number of applicants for a limited number of police constable vacancies in Uttar Pradesh.

"This government has mastered the art of how to shroud the reality behind the dazzle of an event. This is something we must all learn from them. The truth about the economy is that youth from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are queuing up for jobs for fighting in Israel. This is heart-wrenching," Khera told reporters.

"Why would any person want to go to a country engaged in war and become a labourer? The answer is that their average monthly income is just Rs 10,000 (most below minimum wage) while Israel is offering almost 13-14 times that salary," he added.

Khera said it was unfortunate to see that there were 51 lakh applicants for only 60,000 vacancies of police constables in Uttar Pradesh.

"140 crore Indians are living in 'anyaay kaal' imposed by the BJP's misrule," he said.

The Congress leader said the Narendra Modi government shall in the next few days present its final Budget and the entire government machinery is being used to propagate a hollow slogan of 'Viksit Bharat'.

"And this Budget would just be an extension of this shiny, glitzy, extravagant picture of India where the finance minister would read out paragraphs and paragraphs of praise of the Pradhan Mantri ji laced with a lot of superficial claims," Khera said.

"The dazzle of this Budget speech should not blur the reality of this government," he added.

Citing figures to substantiate his claim that the reality of India's economy is far different from what is projected, the Congress leader claimed that half of the Indian people (71 crore) have an income of Rs 3,87,000 per year or less, or about Rs 32,000 a month or less.

The per capita monthly income of the bottom 10 per cent is just Rs 6,000 and of the bottom 11-20 per cent Rs 12,000, Khera said.

In the past five years, under the Modi government, the growth rate of real rural wages has become negative for both agriculture (-0.6 per cent) and non-agriculture (-1.4 per cent), which means there is widespread rural distress, he added.

Escalating his attack on the ruling dispensation, the Congress leader said the "Modi government may drumbeat about poverty numbers" but the "stark reality is different".

"According to the UNDP's multi-dimensional poverty index, 22.8 crore people or about 16 per cent of the population are below the poverty line. (According to NITI Aayog, it is 11.28 per cent or 16.8 crore)," Khera said.

In the past 10 years, the Modi government has made India the "Vishwaguru" in joblessness with a 45 year-high unemployment rate, he added.

Growth in private consumption expenditure, which is a catalyst of creating jobs, is a 21-year low and FMCG sales did not see any increase in 2023, again indicating why the household savings are at a 50-year low," the Congress leader claimed.

"Even as the Modi government is busy toppling elected governments from backdoor, the Economic Distress remains precarious. This shows their priorities," Khera said.

The Congress leader said whatever optics you give, the truth comes out through these figures and one should see for themselves the state of affairs in the country when you join Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', where one meets people across the country and see their plight.

"The government should be ashamed of this data that 80 crore people have to depend on free ration. This is shameful and is a report card of this government," Khera said.

"In the days to come, the Congress party will present a positive agenda of NYAY, which our leader Shri Rahul Gandhi has spoken about in the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'. The five pillars of NYAY: Yuva NYAY, Bhagidari NYAY, Nari NYAY, Kisan NYAY and Shram NYAY," he said.

"We will ensure NYAY (justice) for the 140 crore Indians, from the 10 years of Modi government's misrule (ANYAY)," Khera added. (With inputs from PTI)