The Congress on Monday came out with its own report card on the Modi Government’s flagship schemes and alleged that none has met its target. It said the Prime Minister “will sink in his own wave of lies”.
Addressing a Press conference at the Congress headquarters, party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu shared details about various schemes of the BJP Government.
Talking first about the “Rs 20,000-crore” Namami Gange scheme launched in 2015, Sidhu said that Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari had claimed that 80 per cent of Ganga cleaning work will be completed by 2019.
“Out of Rs 20,000 crore earmarked for the scheme, only Rs 6,000 crore has been spent. Only 10 per cent of the sewage treatment plants have been made. The Ganga is most unclean in Varanasi,” Sidhu claimed. Modi represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha and is contesting again.
“The National Ganges Council was supposed to meet once a year. The PM is its chairman and the CMs of the five states that have Ganga basin are its members. This Council has not met even once in last five years,” he said.
On the much publicised Digital India scheme, Sidhu said, “Digital India was supposed to connect 2.5 lakh villages with broadband connections by February 2019. Only 1.1 lakh villages have got the optic fibre cable as yet...The internet has not worked in even two per cent of villages,” he said. “Now this work is being outsourced to companies such as Reliance and Vodafone,” he alleged.
Under the ‘Skill India’ programme, the Modi Government promised skill enhancement for 40 crore people, according to Sidhu but “only 41 lakh people have been trained”. “Out of 41 lakh, only 6 lakh people have got placement,” he claimed.
Sidhu also talked about the progress in the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, which was launched in 2015.
“AMRUT scheme has 500 cities under it where sewage facilities and water connectivity has to be provided. Its project utilisation is just 3 per cent. Can you imagine? In BJP-ruled states of Assam and Bihar, not a single project has been completed,” he said.
On the Mudra scheme, Sidhu said the average sanctioned loan under it comes to Rs 46,000. “The person, who has an annual income of Rs 1.11 lakh, you are giving him a loan of Rs 46,000 and asking him to start a business. What a joke this is?” he asked.
“Just one per cent of the loans given under the Mudra scheme were above Rs 5 lakhs,” he added.
About Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, Sidhu said, “In phase 3, 78 per cent of the 786 MPs (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) have not adopted any village...46 per cent of the Union Ministers have not identified any village. The scheme does not have any budgetary allocation.”
He also talked about Jayapur and Nagepur - two villages which have been adopted by the PM in Varanasi. “Under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, 400 toilets were made in these two villages. In 80 per cent of the toilets, cow dung and firewood are being stored...The PM installed solar street lights. It does not have motor or batteries,” said the former BJP MP.
Sidhu alleged that out of Rs 684 crore allocated under the “Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao” scheme, 56 per cent of the money has been used in advertisements featuring the PM. “Can you imagine? These are the flagship programs of the PM Modi...Liar-in-Chief is his name.
Then he (PM) complains that Sidhu has called me a liar. Only the weak complain. The brave ones defeat their opponents. Should I call
you Raja Harischandra?” he asked.
About Fasal Bima Yojana, Sidhu said it is “even a bigger scam than Rafale scam”. “I am saying it categorically.” “Under the UPA Government, 4.85 crore farmers were insured. Under the Modi Government, 4.87 crores were insured. The premium taken under the UPA regime was just Rs 10,560 crore. All of these are Government companies such as LIC,” he said.
“Under the Modi Government, while the number of people insured are the same as UPA, the premium taken is Rs 47,408 crore...The premium has increased by five times,” he added.