Sunday rally will be decisive against “arrogant” Modi government: Congress

PTI, Dec 11, 2021, 5:46 PM IST

Jaipur: Senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Saturday said the party’s ‘Mehangai Hatao Maharally’ in Jaipur on December 12 will be a decisive fight against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.

He alleged that the “anti-people Modi government” has given a double blow to people by first scuttling their livelihood opportunities and then throwing them in the fire of inflation. Surjewala was talking to reporters at the State Congress office here. The Congress’ Sunday rally is against the inflation in the country and will also be addressed by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

”On December 12, Rajasthan will witness a great war against inflation. It will be a decisive fight against the Modi government, which is driven by overweening arrogance of power and is in deep slumber. The echo of the rally will be heard in the entire country,” Surjewala said.

The rally was earlier proposed to be held in Delhi but was shifted to Jaipur after it was denied permission by the central government. Surjewala said the Modi government was unaware of the ”bravery of Rajasthanis” who managed to defeat ”arrogant dictators” in the past. He said for the last seven years the Modi government has only created opportunities for the capitalists and cheated the common man. Necessities such as petrol, diesel, vegetables, pulses, oil or salt have become out of reach of the common man, he said.

”In the year 2014, when the Modi government came to power, the price of LPG cylinder was Rs 400, diesel was Rs 56 and petrol was Rs 70 per liter and crude oil was priced at USD 108 per barrel.

“Today, the price of LPG has crossed Rs 1000, the price of cylinder used in hotels and street vends is beyond Rs 2000, petrol and diesel cost over Rs 100 per litre, cooking oil beyond Rs 200 per litre and now tomatoes also cost Rs 100 per kg,” said the party general secretary.

He also alleged that in the last seven years, the Modi government has “looted” public of Rs 24 lakh crore by increasing the excise duty on petrol, diesel, and cess, dividend, etc.

In the UPA-Congress government, the excise duty on petrol was only Rs 9.20 per liter, which was increased to Rs 32.90 per liter by the Modi government, he said. He said after its defeat in November 4 by-elections, the BJP brought down the excise duty from petrol to Rs 21.80 per liter, but it was still 512 per cent higher than what it was during the Congress government.

Citing data of a recent RBI report, the Congress leader said that as per the report ‘Demonetisation and wrong GST’ the Modi government ruined the small and medium industries of the country. Despite demonetisation, the amount of cash in the economy increased by 64 percent, he said.

Just before demonetisation on November 8, 2016, cash in circulation was Rs 17.74 lakh crore, which increased to Rs 29.17 lakh crore on October 29, 2021, he said citing the report. According to the recent ‘Global Hunger Index Report’, India was behind the likes of even Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, ranking at 101 in a list of 116 nations, he said.

Surjwala also cited the ”World Inequality Report” issued this month to say 57 percent of the total income of the nation rests with only the top 10 per cent of people, while the bottom 50 per cent possess only 13 per cent of it.

He cited an NSO report saying that under the Modi government average income of farmers in the country is reduced to Rs 27 per day — less than MGNREGA wages. Far from doubling the income, the farmer’s income was reduced ten times, he alleged.

He also highlighted the Labour ministry’s finding last year, according to which, the country faced the worst unemployment rate in the last 45 years with the number touching as high as 10 percent at the point.