When he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to criticise the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on issues ranging from corruption to terrorism. However, since becoming the Prime Minister himself, Modi has turned silent on these important issues even while the situation continues to deteriorate, opined the All India Mahila Congress president Shobha Oza.
Addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan here on Wednesday, Oza said that the Central Government under Modi had failed to perform as promised during its three years in office so far. She said, “During the term of the Congress led UPA Government at the centre the international trading price of crude oil was about US$ 160 per barrel while under the current BJP government the price dropped down to about US$ 47 a barrel despite which the price of petroleum products was not brought down.
The price of Arhar dal which was being sold for upto Rs 65 for a kilogramme at a time under the UPA government was sold for up to even Rs 200 a kilogramme under the current government with a scam amounting to Rs 15,000 crore also having been orchestrated in this case. The condition of farmers is very dire with an average 35 farmer suicides taking place in the nation daily.
When it comes to the farmers and agriculture, the BJP Government at the centre has gone back on the promises it had made in the past.”
She went on to criticise the foreign policy of the central government opining that it had been a flop so far. “China has been building economic and strategic partnerships with Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives and other nations around India. The China-Pakistan economic corridor will exert an effect on India. While Modi talks of ‘make in India’ the value of imported Chinese manufactured goods has increased to more than Rs 60,000 crore. When it comes to terror attacks, there have been 172 in the past three years with 12 big terror attacks taking place in the past 21 months. During these three years there have been 1343 incidents of border incursions. In the past six months there have three cases of soldiers’ bodies being mutilated.
Apart from the terror aspect, there has also been an alarming rise in mob lynching and moral policing especially in states governed by BJP Governments,” she said. On being asked about the alleged scam in widening of national highway 74 in Udham Singh Nagar district, Oza said that the Congress will raise this issue in the parliament and outside it too. The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh, Mahila Congress state president Sarita Arya and other party office bearers were also present on the occasion.