Congress leader and former Lok Sabha member from Ballari V.S. Ugrappa termed 2020 a black year marked by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government misrule in the country.
Addressing a media conference at the Ballari Press Club on Sunday, he said that the Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had completely failed to safeguard the interests of the people and secure national boundaries.
“Under the Modi government, the country’s economy is destroyed. Growth became a mirage. Unemployment attained a historic low. The country’s territories, especially along the borders of China and Pakistan, are at stake,” Mr. Ugrappa said.
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Sharply targeting the Prime Minister, the KPCC spokesperson said that Mr. Modi did not come out of the national capital when people were in trouble but he did come out when the elections were declared to different States to reach out to voters.
“You must remember that the Union government had announced a special package of ₹ 21 lakh crore when COVID-19 struck the country. But, nobody knows how much money reached the people in need. Under Mr. Modi, the country’s economy is unprecedentedly devastated. All the toiling masses, especially farmers and workers, are facing the worst crisis. The enactment of three farm-related laws, against which farmers are protesting, was like rubbing salt into their wounds,” Mr. Ugrappa said.
On the BJP-led State government, he criticised Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for spending most of his time in elections and Cabinet expansion exercise.
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“The government is so bankrupt that it is not able to pay compensation to rape victims. The flood victims who lost their houses and means of livelihood are still waiting for compensation. The government has no money to pay widow pension, old age pension and scholarships to students,” he said.