2 years of Mohan Yadav govt marked by anti-people policies and hollow claims: Congress

Bhopal: Opposition Congress on Friday hit out at the Mohan Yadav-led Madhya Pradesh government, alleging that its two-year rule has been marked by failures, anti-people policies, economic mismanagement, rising debt and hollow claims.

Addressing a press conference at the state Congress office, the opposition party's state president Jitu Patwari, said these two years have been "wasted" as the government has completely failed to address issues concerning people.

Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar, Congress Working Committee member Kamleshwar Patel and other leaders were also present on the occasion.

Patwari said that CM Yadav talks about development, but the reality is quite the opposite.

The state has not gained anything from Yadav's two years at the helm, he said.

Madhya Pradesh is now burdened with a debt of Rs 4.75 lakh crore and the CM must answer how BJP's 22-year-rule has financially weakened the state, the Congress leader said.

"On the one hand, emotive slogans like 'One tree for mother' are raised, while on the other, entire forests are being given to industrialists. What kind of development model is this?" Patwari asked.

In 2013, there were 1.59 crore children in schools in the state and a budget of Rs 7,000 crore was allocated for them. But today, the number of children has gone down to 1.04 lakh while the budget has increased to Rs 37,000 crore, he said.

"Despite this, there are no teachers in schools, scams are taking place in mid-day meals, which has put the future of children at risk," he alleged.

Accusing the government of indulging in corruption and breach of promises, the state Congress chief said it is paying off debts by selling assets and taking new loans.

This the biggest example of "economic misgovernance", he said.

Singhar said the BJP has been in power for 22 years, yet Madhya Pradesh is still identified as a 'BIMARU' state.

The 'BIMARU' acronym was used to refer to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, to imply they lagged in terms of economic growth.

"If even after 22 years, the state is still characterised by poor health care, malnutrition, unemployment, and crime, then this is not a failure of just two years, but a defeat of the entire governance model," he said.

Earlier in the day, CM Yadav listed his achievements on the completion of two years of his government.