'Economic devastation', claims Congress, accuses Modi govt of manipulating data

Patna, Sep 24 (PTI) The Congress claimed on Wednesday that the "economic devastation" wrought by the BJP-led Centre has plunged crores of Indians into despair and accused the Narendra Modi government of attempting to "manipulate data" to create the image of a booming economy.

The opposition party also said that instead of extending a helping hand to the states, the Centre has cynically withheld GST compensation, treating non-NDA "states with stepmotherly bias".

The assertions were made in a political resolution passed at a meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) here that was chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, treasurer Ajay Maken, general secretaries K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Sachin Pilot, and Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar, among others.

"The extended Congress Working Committee met today in Patna, at a time when the people of Bihar are preparing to free themselves from the misrule of NDA," the resolution said.

At a time when the country needs stability, vision and participatory governance, it is instead witnessing a government that is bent on subordinating all institutions and morality in its pursuit of power, the CWC said after more than four hours of deliberations.

It alleged that the BJP-RSS' relentless attacks on the Constitution and the republic have continued unabated.

"The fundamental principles of our democracy -- liberty, equality, fraternity and justice -- are being demolished brick by brick. Under the BJP, social justice is being trampled on; reservations are routinely eroded through rampant privatisation, refusal to fill vacancies, and widespread use of underhand tactics like declaring candidates 'Not Found Suitable'," the resolution said.

Parliament has been undermined and even constitutional offices have not been spared, it alleged.

The Election Commission (EC), long the cornerstone of India's vibrant democracy, has been turned into a servile mouthpiece for the government, it said.

The Congress also alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been reduced to blunt instruments of political vendetta, deployed against anyone who challenges Prime Minister Modi's rule.

Every institution of democracy and justice has been diminished, with the State becoming subservient to the interests of the ruling party and its Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) allies, it said.

In these challenging times, the CWC appreciates the Telangana government for boldly becoming the first state in the country to reserve 42 per cent of local body seats for the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the resolution said.

"The economic devastation wrought by this government has plunged crores of Indians into despair, even as the government attempts to manipulate data to create the image of a booming economy," it said.

Unemployment is at historic highs and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are the backbone of the country's economy, have been driven to collapse, it claimed.

"Question papers of more than 80 major examinations have been leaked since 2014, putting the future of youth at risk. Inequality has risen to shameful levels, even as the government deliberately pursues policies that favour only the prime minister's closest friends," the CWC said.

Farmers, already burdened with debt, repeated natural calamities, a shortage of fertilisers and rising prices of agricultural supplies, are systematically being driven to commit suicide as they continue to be denied adequate central assistance, it said.

Instead of extending a helping hand to the states, the government has cynically withheld Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation, treating non-NDA "states with stepmotherly bias", the resolution said.

To make matters worse, the slashing of budgets under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has pushed millions of India's poorest citizens deeper into destitution, it said.

"This government has turned a blind eye to the poor, the farmers, the workers and the middle class alike -- reserving compassion only for its crony friends," the CWC said. PTI ASK RC