Even as a gloom has set in the economic development of the country, the BJP-led NDA government in the Centre has no direction or policy to take corrective measures to arrest further downturn, charged All India Congress Committee secretary Sanjay Dutt.
Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Mr. Dutt said the economy in all aspects had failed in the form of downfall of gross domestic product growth rate, core industrial sector growth, credit availability to industry and consumer demand.
“The Modinomics has led to downfall of economy and boosting of poverty,” he said and attributed the decline to wrong economic policies such as demonetisation and implementation of Goods and Services Tax. The revenue collection under GST had come down which will have a direct impact on the social security schemes that ensure uplift of the oppressed and the poor.
The value of rupee had fallen against the US Dollar and the non-performing assets of banks, especially those belonging to rich industrialists, had grown. “While stringent action is taken against poor farmers for default of even one instalment, the rich are spared,” he said. Unemployment rate was at a 45 year low, farmer income growth rate was at a 14 year low and FDI growth rate was at a five year low, Mr. Dutt said.
The government was attempting to sell off public sector units such as Air India, airports, BPCL and privatise railways.
While the Centre was talking about fight against terrorism, on the contrary, the defence budget was at a 57 year low. While people were demanding clean air, water, education and healthcare, the government was busy in national register of citizens, removal of provisions under Article 370 and triple talaq.
He wondered why the Centre was maintaining a stoic silence over the snooping of phones by Pegasus spyware attack. The country was increasingly becoming a surveillance State, and snooping could be through other platforms too, he said.
Earlier, Mr. Dutt addressed a demonstration staged by the party against ‘wrong economic policies of the NDA.’
Kanniyakumari MP H. Vasanthakumar and party district functionaries V. Karthikeyan, R.Jeyaraman and T. Ravichandran were present.
