India lost 1.1 crore jobs in 2018; 90 lakh lost in rural areas alone: civil society groups
New Delhi, Apr 3: India lost 1.1 crore jobs, including 90 lakh in the rural sector, in 2018 alone, claimed a "chargesheet" released on Wednesday by a group of civil society organisations on the NDA government's five-year tenure.
According to the document, released about a week before the general election starts, demonetisation in November 2016 has resulted in 35 lakh jobs being lost.
It claimed at least 75 people, including children, died of hunger across 10 states since 2015. The cause of death, it stated, was "prolonged hunger."
Also, nearly 42 of these people died because they were denied rations as their Aadhaar linkage did not function or they were not enrolled in the scheme, the chargesheet alleged. It, however, did not cite the source of its data.
Announcing People's Agenda or 'Jan Sarokar 2019' at a press conference here, representatives of various campaigns demanded accountability from political parties, emphasising the "days when political parties made empty promises is over".
They also presented a set of "must-do actions" for progressive and secular parties.
Various civil society groups will come together to raise their concern on April 6 at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi, it was announced at the press conference. The political parties joining the Jan Sarokar programme on April 6 include Congress, CPI(M), CPI, DMK, RJD, TMC, AAP, TDP, NCP, JDS, CPI(ML), LJD and Swaraj India.
Their demands include enactment of the Women's Reservation Bill for 33 per cent quota in Parliament and state assemblies, implementation of Forest Rights Act in letter and spirit, universalisation of PDS and increase of public health expenditure.
The "chargesheet" also alleged that the NDA government has cut expenditure for Mid-Day Meals, which fell from Rs 10,523 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 9,949 crore in 2018-19, the document alleged.
The pendency of RTI requests jumped from 8.5 lakhs (2014-15) to 14.5 lakhs (in 2017-18), it claimed.
At the presser, Shankar Singh, a social activist with Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, alleged the "real issues" such as non-payment of NREGA wages have been "submerged" by religious polarisation, politicisation of the armed forces, and warmongering.
"Political parties must commit to the People's Agenda," he demanded.
Syeda Hameed, representing the Samruddha Bharat Foundation, said, "Women, Dalits, Muslims have been targeted by powers who believe in ruling by division and dissension."
Rahul Roy, of the 2017 campaign Not in My Name, said the 2019 general election is a critical moment. "It is the biggest challenge our democracy has ever faced from the regressive forces of hate. I hope reason and truth win."
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KKR land Green for record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore; Shaw, Sarfaraz go unsold
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a record-breaking Rs 25.20 to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green even as Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. This was after Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an intense bidding war for him before the latter emerged winner.
KKR also went after Venkatesh Iyer before pulling out of the race against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fetched the services of the India all-rounder for Rs 7 crore.
As far as Green is concerned, his salary for the season would still be Rs 18 crore (USD 1.9 million) as the rest of the amount will go towards the BCCI's player development programme as per the rules of the auction for foreign players.
Green, who previously turned up for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
Shaw, however, went unsold despite his fine run of form in the domestic circuit lately, and so was the case with Sarfaraz, who smashed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Mumbai on Tuesday.
Big-hitting South African batter David Miller was bought by Delhi Capitals for his base price of Rs 2 crore, but New Zealand swashbuckler Devon Conway, whose base price was also Rs 2 crore, went unsold in the auction.
Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
A total of 359 players -- 246 Indians and 113 overseas players -- are part of the mini auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
