Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi promising an India free from inflation and unemployment, the country is now recording an all time high of rise in prices of essential, including fuel, and highest unemployment in the last 45 years, alleged All India Congress Commitee(AICC) spokesperson Shama Mohamed.
She was addressing the media, as part of the ‘Mehangai par halla bol’, the nation-wide programme of the Congress, here on Monday.
She pointed out that the price of LPG (cooking gas) has gone up from ₹410 per cylinder in 2014 to ₹1,053 to ₹1,240, in 2022, recording an abnormal rise of 156%.
The price of petrol has gone up from ₹71 per litre in 2014 to ₹112 and diesel from ₹55 to ₹100. Even price of mustard oil has gone up from ₹90 to ₹200 per kg and milk from ₹35 to ₹60 per litre, she pointed out.
What is even astonishing is that the price of petrol and diesel has gone up when the price per barrel has come down and when petrol and diesel have been deregulated. “If that be the case, then the benefits should be passed on to the consumers. But instead of doing that Mr. Modi is filing the government’s coffers,” said Ms. Shama.
According to her, Mr. Modi had promised before the 2019 general elections that foodgrains, curd, lassi and buttermilk, will be free from GST, but he has now imposed GST on them also.
As per a government report, in July 2022, the Union Government had collected close to ₹1.43 lakh crore of GST. If the GST collection is so good, why burden the common man by imposing GST on essentials. If this is the case- then how is Prime Minister Modi helping the poor?, she questioned.
Questioning the Prime Minister’s employment policy, Ms. Shama said that as per a report about 22 lakh youth had applied for government jobs in 2014, but till now only about 7.2 lakh were given jobs. “And on top of this, the Union Government is shutting down or privatising public sector units. It has also proposed the 100% strategic sale of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant,”she said.
Agnipath is also a poorly conceived scheme and will dash the hopes of lakhs of youths who have aspired to serve in the armed forces for a longer duration, she said.
On the position of the Congress party in the State, she said that it was for Mr. Oommen Chandy, who is the in-charge of the State, to comment. But she also added that Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s visit to some parts of the State during his 3,600-km padayatra will give a fillip to the party.
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