Congress dismisses PM’s “so-called interview”; says his govt won’t last beyond 9 months

"Spewing unadulterated lies on economy and development and shedding crocodile tears on the swiftly-tearing social fabric of the country by weaving lies and concocting theories to build a narrative is not what the people of India want to listen to from their Prime Minister”, said Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday, August 12, in a scathing indictment of the “so-called interviews” given to two outlets by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “At the last lap of his term, Modi wants the people of India to buy his massive failures as ‘Acche Din’; he could not even list one big achievement or initiative of his government”, said Khera. The Prime Minister has tweeted links to both interviews on Sunday. Khera also challenged PM Modi to face an actual press conference.

Congress rejoinders to Modi’s claims in interviews

Khera said Modi in 2014 had "promised the moon for the next 60 months, but now all his ‘so called targets’ are to be fulfilled in 2022, a self-extension of 48 more months!” In a press statement released on Sunday, the Congress made the following rebuttals to points made by PM Modi in the interviews, and asked some questions of its own.

Jobs and Employment

• Modi promised 2 crore jobs every year, but his Govt could only create a few lakh jobs per year
• Modi stated in his response to the no-confidence motion in Parliament on July 20 that over 1 crore jobs were created in the country during the past one year; this is laughable to the least. Most of the jobs, the PM spoke about were 'replacement' jobs and no additional jobs
• EPFO enrolments are not necessarily new jobs. They mostly reflect jobs moving from the unorganised sectors to the organised ones. Also, EPFO data cannot be a measure of job creation because according to statutory requirements, when an organisation has 20 or more employees it comes under EPFO’s ambit. So, if a firm has 19 employees and it adds one more to its payroll, then all 20 will have to be registered under EPFO. This gives a false picture that 20 jobs were created instead of just one
• Demonetisation destroyed the economy of unorganised sector
• A flawed GST continues to haunt trade and business.
• After two months of demonetisation, around 1.26 crore jobs were lost in the unorganised sector (as per CMIE)
• As per the ILO, 77% of Indian workers will have vulnerable employment by 2019
• Even Niti Aayog has admitted in February 2018 that India is plagued by ‘unsatisfactory jobs and underemployment’
• Why has the Labour Bureau Survey for Oct-Dec 2017 not been released?
• Modi exudes the virtues of a MUDRA loan but fails to tell the people of India that average size of MUDRA loans for 91% beneficiaries is a mere ₹23,000

Goods and Services Tax

• There are still protests in the country on GST. Last month, an 8-day nationwide transport strike particularly in Gujarat and Maharashtra resulted in a loss of ₹15,000 crore of businesses in Gujarat itself. One of the primary demands of the strike was redressal of e-Way bill, reduction in diesel prices by reducing central and state taxes by bringing it under GST
• PM Modi uses GST like an electoral lollypop to flash before elections. Just before every major state election, the prices of certain popular items are reduced and Modi takes credit!
• This approach has cost the nation. This quarter, it is estimated that the GST collection ₹517 crore less than the budgeted target of ₹6,039 crore
• Hundreds of small and medium industries are still in distress because of 5 rates of GST

NPAs

On July 24, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla refused to give year-wise and bank-wise details of loans sanctioned after May 2014 which turned into NPAs and resulted into five times increase in NPAs. The Prime Minister conveniently cannot hide behind ‘legacy’ issues and hide his failure to deliver.

NRC Assam

• Modi has a deliberate and diabolic agenda to play politics to use NRC as a divisive and emotional tool for misleading the people
• UPA-Congress Government deported 82,728 Bangladeshi foreigners between 2005-2013 as against a mere 1,822 deportation under Modi Government
• NRC Process was initiated by the Congress Party in terms of the historical ‘Assam Accord’ (August 15, 1985), which has now culminated in a Final Draft of NRC List in July, 2018.
• Modi government pleaded before Supreme Court to delay NRC as recently as on November 30, 2017 citing law and order concerns. Supreme Court refused to accept its plea
• There are multiple anomalies in the Final Draft NRC List, leaving out 40 lakh persons comprising of indigenous Assamese people, Hindu Bengalis, Nepalis, Gorkhas, Tea Tribes, religious minorities, Indian citizens from other states domiciled in Assam as also serving and retired defence personnel and those who are in other public or private sector services. Congress Party reiterates that every Indian Citizen must be given full opportunity to establish their credentials and prove their citizenship
• If BJP and Modi are so concerned in deporting Bangladeshi illegal migrants back to Bangladesh, then why did MoS Home Kiren Rijiju and MoS Foreign Affairs MJ Akbar tell Bangladeshi MP Syed Nazibul Bashar that they have had a discussion with PM Modi and people left out of NRC shall not be deported back to Bangladesh?

Rafale Deal

• What is the price per Rafale aircraft?
• Why was the offsets contract withdrawn from HAL and given to a private business house with no experience in the sector?
• Why was approval from Cabinet Committee on Security not taken before buying 36 fighters?

Claiming that people would give the BJP a befitting reply first in the upcoming state elections and then in 2019, Khera said “The Congress party would categorically like to tell Modi that his Govt shall not last beyond the upcoming 9 months.”