Modi government making shining India for rich, nothing for poor: Yechury

Agartala, May 22 (IANS) The Narendra Modi government is making two Indias -- a shining one for the rich and one full of miseries for the poor, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said here.

"The Modi government as part of the 'Aacche Din' slogan is making two Indias -- shining for the rich people and full of miseries for the poor people," he said here late on Sunday evening after attending a two-day meeting of the state committee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

"At a time the Modi government is celebrating three years of its office, the government statistics says that over 12,000 farmers committed suicide every year since 2014 due to debt burden and the government's anti-farmer policies," he said.

"When the 'annadata' (food provider) is in distress how can the country grow. The government has taken anti-farmer steps by not increasing the minimum support price, import duty and input costs."

Another CPI-M politburo member and former general secretary Prakash Karat, also attended the two-day meeting of the state committee. The meeting discussed about the next assembly polls in Tripura.

Tripura, one of the two states (including Kerala) where the CPI-M-led Left Front is in power along with other Left parties, goes to polls in February next year.

Yechury said: "As part of the 'Aacche Din' package the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised to generate two crore new jobs every year. But very few new jobs have been created. On the other hand, thousands of people are losing their existing jobs."

He said around 56,000 jobs have been laid off by the major Information Technology companies in the country. "According to a survey by an international agency, 50 to 60 per cent of the total of 40 lakh people engaged in the information technology sector might lose their jobs in the coming years."

"What celebration do they (BJP) want to hold on May 26 (on completion of three years)? This must be a celebration of failure and betrayal. Modi is taking the country into a dark past."

"On the industrial front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 'Make in India', 'Startup India', 'Digital India' and many more things. But no significant investment has been made in the last three years," the CPI-M leader said.

The Left leader said that rural, urban and services sector employment is declining rapidly. "The allocation in rural job scheme (MGNREGA) has been reduced to such an extent that around 20,000 people each year in the past three years did not get wages."

The CPI-M general secretary said that when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power one per cent of Indians possessed 49 per cent of the country's GDP, but in the BJP regime one per cent Indians have 58.4 per cent of the GDP.

"The PDS (Public Distribution System) is now in doldrums. Kerosene oil, sugar, both essentials for the common man, are being removing from the PDS supplies. People's legal entitlement like MGNREGA is being curtailed."

He said that according to a recent survey of an international body, out of 195 countries, India ranked 154 in the disease burden after Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Criticising the BJP government's "appeasement towards corporate sector", Yechury said the loans taken by the corporate houses has crossed Rs 11 lakh crore. Total loan taken from various banks by corporate houses stands at 37 per cent while it is only 14 per cent by the peasantry sectors in the Modi regime.

"It is good that the government is against triple talaq. But why is the BJP government silent about the women's reservation in Parliament and assembly despite it having majority in the houses."

It said the Modi government has "miserably failed" in dealing with the Jammu and Kashmir issue, and stressed on the need for a political settlement.

"Dialogue and engagement is a must to solve the Jammu and Kashmir crisis. The government has also backtracked from its commitment given to the all-party delegation headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh that visited the violence-hit state in September last year," Yechury said.