Congress: Aayog aimed at centralising powers directly to PMO and it’s dangerous
The Congress on Friday attacked the Government on various issues ranging from commissioning of Niti Aayog, over the new land Acquisition Ordinance and on fuel pricing for which the Opposition said that it should come down more since the heavy drop in international prices. Further, the party also took heads on the Government through social media accused the NDA dispensation of doing “another U-turn” on depositing cooking gas subsidy amount in consumers’ bank account. Through the same Shadow Cabinet the party also criticised the NDA Government for “budget cuts” in different sectors and “dilution” of land Bill as well.
The Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to replace Planning Commission with another body named Niti Aayog was aimed as centarlising powers directly to PMO and this would prove be dangerous. The party said that “anti- Nehruvianism” and “anti-Congressism” was behind the Government’s decision of restructuring and renaming the Planning Commission as “Niti Aayog”. “It is a matter of concern as what has happened is a direct attack on the federal structure. It is an attempt at Centralisation and making the plan body an extension of the PMO,” AICC spokesman Ajoy Kumar said.
Insisting that the move was not only wrong but “dangerous” as proper development could take place only through “bottoms up” approach, Kumar said the creation of Niti Aayog was an “attack on the freedom of the states and the Panchayati Raj institutions.” Kumar also attacked the Centre for not passing the benefits of international oil price reduction to the consumers and demanded that prices of petrol and diesel should come down by Rs5-6.
The Opposition party through its official Twitter account attacked the decisions of various Ministries by posting links of various new reports on its shadow committee. In other tweets, the party attacked the appointment of Shailesh Nayak as ad-hoc Chairman of ISRO and the recent Ordinance on land acquisition citing reports. “More dilutions hidden in the land ordinance than you were told about by the Modi Government...,” it said.
Shadow Cabinet committees were formed in November to keep a watch on decisions and policies of key Ministries of the Modi Government and corner it on issues during and after the Winter Session. Party sources say that the attack on these hashtags will be carried out comprehensively during the upcoming Budget session in February.
“_Shadow @HRDMinShadow: Nailing the lies of @HRDMinistry & of ‘Minimum Govt, Maximum Governance’: Why IIT can’t fly”, the party posted, criticising the government over reports that it plans to cut funds for police modernisation and its alleged role into IIT Delhi controversy. For his part, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari was doing “backseat driving” in Rural Development Ministry headed by Haryana’s “tragedy king” Birender Singh. The former Rural Development Minister also questioned Singh’s absence in a group of Ministers who had met President Pranab Mukherjee to explain the urgency for bringing an ordinance to amend the Act.