PM Modi should pay attention to basic economic issues of country: Mallikarjun Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "used PR" to keep the government away from basic issues but people were now demanding accountability after the June Lok Sabha poll results.
Kharge took a swipe at the prime minister, saying that while he is holding meetings under the shadow of cameras for the upcoming budget, he must pay attention to the basic economic issues of the country.
In a post in Hindi on X, the Congress president said, "Narendra Modi ji, Your government has ruined the lives of crores of people by pushing them into the pit of unemployment, inflation and inequality."
Listing the "failures" of the government, Kharge said that due to the unemployment rate of 9.2 per cent, the future of the youth is staring at naught.
"For people aged 20-24 years, the unemployment rate has risen to 40%, highlighting the serious crisis in the job market among the youth," Kharge said.
The promise of doubling the income of farmers and MSP of cost plus 50 per cent has turned out to be false, he said.
Recently, on the MSP of 14 Kharif crops, the Modi government has again proved that it wants to use the MSP recommendation of the Swaminathan report only as an "election gimmick", he claimed.
The Congress leader said, "3.84 lakh government jobs have been lost in the 7 PSUs in which the majority of government stake has been sold! This has also led to the loss of jobs for SC, ST, OBC, EWS reserved posts".
He said 1.25 lakh people have lost government jobs in the 20 top PSUs in which the Modi government has sold a small stake since 2016.
Manufacturing as a percentage of GDP has fallen from 16.5 per cent during the UPA regime to 14.5 per cent during the Modi government, he pointed out.
"Private investment has also fallen drastically in the last 10 years. New private investment plans, which are an important part of GDP, fell to a 20-year low of only Rs 44,300 crore between April and June. Last year, private investment of Rs 7.9 lakh crore was made during this period," he said.
Kharge also alleged that the havoc of inflation is at its peak.
The prices of flour, pulses, rice, milk, sugar, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and all essential food items are skyrocketing, he noted.
The result is that the household savings of families are at the lowest level in 50 years, he added.
Kharge said that economic inequality is the highest in 100 years, while wage growth in rural India is negative.
"Unemployment has increased significantly in rural areas and it has now increased from 6.3% in May to 9.3%. The average number of days of workers employed in MNREGA has decreased," he said.
"Modi ji, It has been 10 years, you used your PR to keep the government away from the basic issues of the people, but after June 2024, this will not work anymore, the public is now demanding accountability," Kharge said.
The arbitrary tampering with the country's economy must now stop, he added.
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New York, Apr 30 (PTI): New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would encourage King Charles III to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
“If I was to speak to the King separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond,” Mamdani said at a press conference Wednesday before he met the British monarch in the city later in the day. Mamdani was asked what he would say to the King, who visited New York City on the second day of his State Visit to the US.
King Charles addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress Tuesday, as he and Queen Camilla were honoured at a state dinner hosted by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in the White House.
King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the 9/11 Memorial in the city and paid their respects to the victims of the terror attack.
They also visited Harlem Grown, a network of urban farms supporting children and families in Upper Manhattan.
Mamdani met King Charles at the 9/11 memorial. The 105.6-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond was given to Queen Victoria in 1849 by Maharajah Duleep Singh. It was worn by the Queen Mother on her crown in 1937.
India has indicated that it will continue to explore ways to bring back the Koh-i-noor from the United Kingdom.
The country has been raising the matter from time to time with the UK government and said it will continue to explore ways and means for obtaining a “satisfactory resolution of the matter.”
The Koh-i-Noor diamond is currently displayed at the Tower of London. The diamond, set within the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, has "many previous owners, including Mughal Emperors, Shahs of Iran, Emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh Maharajas,” according to the Historic Royal Palaces charity.
The 34-year-old Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani.
He is the first Muslim, the first Indian-origin, the first born in Africa, and the youngest one in more than a century to become New York Mayor.
