PM Has New Tactics To Divert Attention From Real Issues: Rahul

FILE PHOTO: Unemployment and inflation are at their peak in the country and Narendra Modi says 'everything is fine', said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

On Monday, April 22, the Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of speaking in a “poisonous language” and said that he has various new tactics for diverting attention from real issues but the end of the “business of lies” is now near.

On Sunday night, the Congress had also hit back at Modi over his “redistribution of wealth” remarks targeting the party. It had said that after facing “disappointment” in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, the PM has now resorted to “hate speech” and “lies” to divert people from the real issues.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, sharing the Congress’ latest advertisement that focuses on rising prices and unemployment on Monday said, “Unemployment and inflation are at their peak in the country and Narendra Modi says ‘everything is fine’.”

In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “He (Modi) has several new techniques to ‘divert from the issues’, But the end of the business of lies is near.”

Jairam Ramesh, who is the Congress general secretary, also stepped up his attack on the prime minister. Ramesh said, “The prime minister speaks in a poisonous language on a whole lot of issues. He should also answer a simple question – Since 1951, census has been conducted every ten years. This reveals the actual data of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population. This should have been done in 2021 but has not been done till date. Why is the Prime Minister silent on this?”

Ramesh alleged that this is a conspiracy to destroy the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar.

After PM Modi suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of the people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh’s remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country’s resources, the Congress has stepped up its attack on the prime minster.

Modi alleged, while addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara, that the Congress plans to give people’s hard-earned money and valuables to “those who have more children” and “infiltrators”.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Sunday, 21 April, alleged that PM Modi has caused an “unprecedented decline” in worker wages (adjusted for price rise) and said that an INDIA coalition government will return the country to a higher growth trajectory.

Congress’ Jairam Ramesh said that multiple data sources — which include the Modi government’s own official statistics — are unanimous in showing the simple fact that workers today can buy less than they could 10 years ago.

A combination of back-breaking inflation and slow wage growth has caused an unprecedented decline in real wages, Ramesh said in a statement. He said, “Labour Bureau’s Wage Rate Index (Government Data): Between 2014 and 2023, real wages for labourers have stagnated, with clear declines in real wages in Modi-II,”

According to Ramesh, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agricultural Statistics said that under former prime minister Manmohan Singh, real wages for agricultural labourers grew at 6.8 per cent each year. “Under PM Modi, real wages for agricultural labourers declined by -1.3 per cent each year,” Ramesh added.

In a statement, he said, “Periodic Labour Force Survey Series (Government Data): Average real earnings over time have stagnated between 2017 and 2022 across all employment types – salaried workers, casual workers, and self-employed workers.”

Citing data from the Center for Labour Research and Action, Ramesh said real wages of brick kiln workers have stagnated or declined between 2014 and 2022. He pointed out that brick kilns involve intensive labour and are a low-paying work of last resort for India’s poorest.

The Congress leader said in the statement, “Stagnant wages underpin the economy’s poor performance under PM Modi: Real wages for India’s people have stagnated since the PM came to office.”

He added, “Stagnant real wages have dragged down consumption growth as revealed by the NSSO’s Consumption Expenditure Survey which showed a decline in rural consumption for the first time in almost 50 years (and which the Modi Sarkar tried to suppress).”

Ramesh argued that with slowing consumption growth and deepening fear, the private sector no longer has an incentive to invest in the economy. The statement read, “Investment in India has dropped to historic low levels, threatening our long-term growth: Investment as % of GDP (10-year average) was 33.4% under the UPA but just 28.7% under Modi. FDI as % of GDP rose from 0.8% in 2004 to 1.7% in 2014 under Manmohan Singh’s stewardship. It has fallen to just 1.5% of GDP as of 2022.”