Mokokchung, 15 June (MTNews): As “9 years of Modi’s BJP government” continue to make rounds as they prepare for Lok Sabha 2024 elections, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has raised 9 questions ranging from price rise to crony capitalism to corruption.
The NPCC on Thursday through a press release questioned the Modi government on why inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India and asked, “Why have the rich become richer and the poor become poorer?”
The NPCC argued that the prices of all essential commodities have ‘relentlessly risen since 2014’, even though oil prices have fallen from $100/barrel to $70/barrel over the same period. The NPCC highlighted how the youth unemployment has risen to 30-40% while real wages have fallen for the poor.
“This is a disastrous record. Demonetization and GST destroyed small businesses without eliminating black money, and the demonetization of Rs 2000 which was announced recently is a fresh reminder of your government’s heartless approach,” it said.
Calling out corruption and cronyism, the NPCC asked why people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI are being put at risk to benefit “their friend Adani.”
“Why are you letting thieves escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BJP-ruled states, and why are you letting Indians suffer?” it asked, and claimed that the Adani monopoly is contributing to higher prices for electricity and flights.
The NPCC also asked why Minimum Support Price for farmers has not been legally guaranteed and asked why the farmers’ incomes have not doubled over the last nine years.
It claimed that the average income of a farmer is Rs 27/day, while GST on agriculture items has burdened the ‘Annadatas’ even as subsidies on items like fertilizers have been cut.
Claiming that BJP has given “clean chit to China in 2020,” the NPCC said, there is no national security strategy. It said China continues to occupy Indian territory more aggressively as BJP maintains its silence. The NPCC also criticized the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ and said it risks weakening the Armed Forces by lowering training standards and threatening unit cohesion.
Stating that there is a sharp rise in hate crimes since 2014, the NPCC asked why the BIP are deliberately using the “politics of hatred for electoral gains and fueling an atmosphere of fear in society.”
It criticized the BJP for the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens and observed that BJP is “too often silent on the violence that has rampaged through Delhi, Manipur and other places in the country.”
The NPCC also claimed that there is a rise in atrocities against Dalits by 23% since 2014 and asked why the BJP is silent on the atrocities against women Dalits, SCs, STs , OBCs and minorities.
“The weakening of the Forest Rights Act shows contempt for the Adivasi community, and the BJP has reduced much-needed scholarships for religious minorities. Crimes against women have risen from 3.1 lakh in 2013 to 4.2 lakh in 2021,” the NPCC claimed.
The NPCC also questioned why the BIP have weakened constitutional values and democratic institutions in the last nine years and accused them for playing ‘politics of revenge’ against Opposition parties and leaders.
On the welfare schemes, the NPCC said “Ujjwala Yojana is a failure since very few can afford cooking gas at Rs 1,103/cylinder.” It accused the BJP of mocking the MGNREGA in Parliament despite the critical role that MNREGA and the National Food Security Act played in saving the nation’s poor during the COVID-19 pandemic and asked why the BJP had reduced MGNREGA allocations.
On Covid-19 mismanagement, the NPCC asked why, despite the tragic deaths of over 40 lakh people due to COVID-19, the BJP government has refused to compensate their families. It questioned the declaration of ‘premature victory after the first wave’ and criticized the failure to have adequate oxygen, medicines and hospital beds.
BJP woos voters by attacking ‘corrupt bureaucracy’
In a classic BJP style, Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, BJP Member of Legislative Council, Chief Whip of Bihar Legislative Assembly on Thursday attacked the state government in Nagaland, where the BJP is in power along with NDPP, alleging that 50% of government officials and executive engineers are corrupt.
“There is a cancer of corruption in Nagaland. It is time to treat the cancer,” Jaiswal said during a press conference the BJP Nagaland held at Tourist Lodge, Dimapur on Thursday. Jaiswal during his interaction with the media said, “Half of the officers are not working” and criticized the culture in Nagaland stating that the moment one gets a government job, “they only worry about the security of their career and not the security of Nagaland.”
“50% of engineers and government officials only think about how to secure their children’s future and not Nagaland’s. For the fear of God, stop this corruption,” he said, lamenting that 50% of the IAS officers are not “utilizing their brain.”
Jaiswal went on to say how the public and the voters are the “real king” but the bureaucrats who are supposed to be the “servant of government are acting like king while treating the public and the voters like servants.”
Stating that the BJP has accepted the “addiction of the corruption” in Nagaland, he said, it is time to “provide medicine” to the corrupt and claimed that the Enforcement Directorate is investigating on 17 senior officers of the state.
He also claimed that the government officials have been taught to be corrupt since the Congress rule in the state for decades. He told the government officials to “become sincere for Nagaland” and “be concerned about development of Nagaland” while asserting that BJP stands for 3 Ps: Peace, Progress and Prosperity.
It is worth mentioning here that this is not the initial occurrence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders attacking the bureaucracy. Across various regions, including Jharkhand and Yogi’s UP, BJP leaders have consistently clashed with the bureaucratic system, regardless of whether the BJP holds power.