Ahead of the Union Budget, the Congress on January 24 cited a report to argue that the gap in the incomes of the poor and the rich widened during the COVID-19 pandemic and urged the Narendra Modi government to work on bridging it.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and alleged that the poor and the middle class faced an “economic epidemic” because of the Modi government’s policies.
Sharing a news report on the findings of a survey on the Indian Consumer Economy done by the People’s Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE), Mr. Gandhi tweeted, “The entire country suffered during the Covid pandemic, but the poor and the middle class are also victims of the ‘economic epidemic’ of the Modi government. The credit for digging this widening gap between the rich and the poor goes to the Central government.”
The findings of PRICE claimed widening disparity in annual household incomes compared with 2016 data, with the poorest 20% of the population witnessing 52.6% decline in their incomes and the lower middle class comprising 20% facing a decline of 32.4%. But the richest 20% saw a 39% rise in their incomes.
At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the Modi government was working only for the benefit of the rich and the powerful.
“We categorically and assertively insist that the Union Budget must focus on bridging this divide.... It should only focus on increasing money in the hands of the poor. It should pay attention on how urban poverty is going up many fold and rural poverty in comparison has gone up,” Ms. Shrinate said.
Taking a dig at the government’s economic management, she said: “The government should institute a gross economic mismanagement index to know how badly mismanaged the Indian economy is.”
