Kharge's critique of Modi's personal guarantee for welfare scheme implementation is baseless. While taxpayers money can be misused, Modi's assurance ensures their proper use and delivery to deserving recipients, safeguarding against fraud and ensuring effective utilisation
Pre-poll surveys suggest that despite winning the Karnataka Assembly election handsomely, the Congress party is on the back foot regarding their prospects in the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll. Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra took a six-day break on February 25 after reaching Agra in Uttar Pradesh. He resumed it after his return from Cambridge and has been continuing towards the western part of the country, with the journey set to conclude in Mumbai. The Yatra has already covered the northeastern States, Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, where Rahul addressed supporters, making personal attacks on PM Modi, questioning him about the state of the economy, unemployment, inflation, spreading hate, and undermining democratic institutions.
Besides the JMM and the RJD supporting the Yatra in Jharkhand and Bihar, the only other INDIA Bloc member who joined it was the SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, albeit only at Agra during its last leg of the Uttar Pradesh tour. Rahul took another day off from the Yatra and participated in the INDIA Bloc rally at Patna, where RJD leaders again targeted PM Modi.
Karnataka organised the “Constitution and National Unity Convention 2024” in Bengaluru on February 24-25. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah invited academician Nitasha Kaul, a faculty member at the University of Westminster, United Kingdom, as a delegate for the convention. She is known for her anti-India propaganda. Kaul has roots in India and is an OCI cardholder. Of course, the Government of India had issued a preventive lookout circular against her. Her pro-separatist and anti-India role is evident from her written testimony to the US House of Representatives committee two months after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. She called the Indian Parliament’s action undemocratic for the people of Kashmir. In her addresses and writings, she refers to it as “Indian-administered Kashmir”.
Moreover, she justifies terrorism there as an armed struggle for freedom and consistently denies the genocide of Kashmiri pundits. Pakistan’s ISI has constantly amplified her statements and writings and used them against India. She was rightfully deported from Bengaluru airport.
The denial of entry to an Indian-origin professor at the airport has triggered a political slugfest. The Congress has criticised it, citing concerns over individuals’ rights and the autonomy of the state. They have further questioned the state of democracy in India, respect for constitutional values, and freedom of speech.
In contrast, the BJP criticised Congress’s move to invite an anti-India propagandist for the convention and further supporting sympathisers of the “tukde tukde” gang. I leave it to the readers to judge whether we should waste the State’s funds and invite pro-separatist supporters for any convention anywhere in India.
The convention was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, among others. While speaking at the valedictory function, Kharge attacked the BJP and PM Modi, saying that there are efforts to amend the Constitution to suit the saffron party. He added that people should stand together and fight it out during the Lok Sabha election, and also warned that if the people do not fight it, we will soon see a dictatorial regime.
“In public, Modi speaks of protecting the constitution and its spirit, but his government uses agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to target opposition voices,” Kharge said. Karnataka CM also urged the people to defeat BJP in forthcoming elections, lest the constitution, social justice, and equality in society would be compromised.
The convention was not held to save the Constitution but was an election campaign for the Lok Sabha 2024 polls for the INDIA Bloc. The bloc is no longer united, as the Janata Dal (United) has already moved out of it and joined the NDA. The TMC is refusing to share seats with other constituents of the INDIA Bloc; the AAP and the Congress have not announced seat sharing for 13 seats in Punjab. When constituents of the bloc are in disarray and pre-poll surveys suggest a massive mandate in favor of the BJP-led NDA, the Congress has to use all tactics and spread false narratives against a government in office for ten years. The pro-incumbency wave in favour of the ruling party has made the Opposition rattled and hide behind such meaningless conventions.
Why is there pro-incumbency? India is the fastest-growing developing economy, and post-COVID, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, the country stands as the only bright spot in the world economy. Under the ten years of BJP rule, we have progressed from being part of the “fragile five” and the 11th largest economy to becoming the 5th largest. Modi’s guarantee is that we will rise to the third largest economy in his third term. To compare this with the Opposition’s vision, it should be noted that the UPA’s Finance Minister in 2013-14 had projected that we would reach this position in a 30-year period, i.e., by 2044. Civil and digital infrastructures have flourished during the NDA’s ten-year tenure, showing greater speed and scale compared to the UPA’s decade in power. This has undoubtedly contributed to better economic growth. The use of digital infrastructure has facilitated social connectivity and put an end to the era of leakages from government funds intended for beneficiaries.
When there was a need to develop telecom infrastructure and boost the economy, 2G and 3G scams were perpetrated. Similarly, when efforts were made to modernise sports infrastructure for the country, the Commonwealth Games scam was orchestrated. And when we aimed to strengthen defense infrastructure, submarine and helicopter scams occurred. Members of the INDIA Bloc are decrying the actions of the ED and CBI, labelling them as vendetta politics, while turning a blind eye to large cash seizures, breakdowns of cash counting machines, and compelling evidence pointing to scams such as the liquor scandal in Delhi, the Mahadev App scam in Chhattisgarh, teachers’ recruitment in West Bengal, and the land-for-job scam of the RJD. Modi is fulfilling his duty by holding those who have looted the country accountable.
Our progress in creating infrastructure for the transition to renewable energy is advancing at a pace faster than what was committed to in the Paris Climate Accord of 2015. Additionally, when considering the electrification of the entire country, it must be acknowledged that reaching remote villages poses significant challenges, particularly in extending transmission lines to every household. While we may have completed about 90 per cent of the electrification job before 2014, the remaining 10 per cent presents the most formidable obstacles. Nevertheless, the government has now successfully electrified all villages and households across the nation. Moreover, without any discrimination based on caste, creed, or religion, the government is steadfast in its commitment to providing piped water to all citizens.
Similarly, initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which offers health coverage of up to `5 lakh annually per family, and the Kisan Samman Yojana, providing `6000 in cash support annually to each of the 11.68 crore families in the country, exemplify the government’s dedication to uplifting marginalised and deprived communities. Other schemes include providing free rations to 800 million beneficiaries for the next five years and constructing four crore houses for impoverished families. These efforts underscore the government’s commitment to social justice and equality.
Farmers, as providers of food (Annadata), are being supported by government schemes aimed at transforming them into energy providers (Urjadata) through the installation of solar panels on farmlands, as well as into fertilizer providers (Urvarakdata) through the composting of biodegradable waste. If this is not social justice and equality, then what is?
Congress chief Kharge’s criticism regarding how Modi can personally guarantee the implementation of welfare schemes funded by taxpayers’ money is unwarranted. Taxpayers’ money could indeed be misappropriated for fraudulent activities, but Modi’s guarantee ensures the proper utilisation of funds, the implementation of welfare schemes, and their delivery to deserving families.
(The writer is a retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) Karnataka)
