Will end drain of wealth from Indian families to crony corporates: Cong
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Thursday accused the Modi government of aiding "drain of wealth" from ordinary Indians to crony corporates, and said it will end this practice if it comes to power at the Centre.
The Congress attack came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Rahul Gandhi had stopped "abusing" Adani and Ambani and whether his party received money from them in return.
"On June 4, as the Congress-led government takes power, we will rapidly accelerate economic growth while ensuring that ordinary Indian families are the biggest beneficiaries. We will end the 'drain of wealth' from Indian families to crony corporates," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.
"The 'Hum Do Hamare Do' effect: Net household savings fell by 9 lakh crores in the last three years. Real household savings are at their lowest since 2014. PM Modi has overseen a 'drain of wealth' - from Bharat ke Parivar to Modi ka Parivar," Ramesh also said in a post on X, while sharing his statement.
The Congress leader, in his statement, said 150 years ago, Dadabhai Naoroji's "Drain Theory" explained how the wealth of India's people was being taken away and sent to England.
"Since 2014, we have seen a similar 'drain of wealth' from Bharat ke Parivaar (India's families) to Modi ka Parivaar (Modi's family). This is the intentional effect of the prime minister's 'Hum Do Humaare Do' policy of favouring his cronies, he said.
"With each passing day of Modi's Anyay Kaal, this 'Drain of Wealth' breaks a shameful new record. The National Accounts Statistics released on 7 May, 2024 show that India's net household savings have decreased by Rs. 9 lakh crore in three years," he claimed.
Ramesh alleged that India's households are depleting their savings and falling into debt due to the economic mismanagement, incompetence, and anti-people policies of the Modi government"
He noted that loans to households have increased from 7 lakh crore to 14 lakh crore in last three years.
Citing figures to highlight there is a crisis for Indian households and consumers, he said in September 2023, the RBI bulletin showed India's net financial savings at just 5.1 per cent of the GDP, which was the lowest in 47 years.
"In a real sense, the BJP government is responsible for ripping away mangalsutras, as its economic failures have pushed gold loans to a record high. Outstanding gold loans have crossed Rs. 1 lakh crore for the first time in India's history, as per RBI data," the Congress leader alleged.
"Any growth that has happened since 2014, has been only for the crony industrialist friends of the Prime Minister: Today, 21 billionaires have more wealth than the poorest 70 crore Indians combined," he alleged.
"Today, the richest 1% have 40% of India's wealth - this is higher than it was during the British colonial times, and is among the worst in the world. This is the reality of Modi's Anyay Kaal. While Hum Do, Humaare Do have prospered, ordinary Indian families have suffered under failed economic policies like demonetisation, badly-designed GST, and unplanned lockdowns," Ramesh also claimed.
Congress leader P Chidambaram, meanwhile, said the party's manifesto on economy has promised to support the private sector and every kind of enterprise -- large, medium, small and micro.
"Regulatory oversight will be based on clearly enunciated laws and rules that will be applied fairly and without discrimination. We will ensure a level playing field for all. We are opposed to monopolies and oligopolies and crony capitalism.
"We will ensure that no company or person arrogates to itself or himself the financial or material resources or the business opportunities or the concessions that ought to be available to every entrepreneur," he said in a post.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
