Manmohan attacks Modi for BJP government's failures
New Delhi, Sep 7: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the BJP-led government of allround failure leading to agrarian crisis, economic turmoil and deteriorating ties with neighbouring countries.
Singh was speaking at the launch of Congress leader Kapil Sibal's book "Shades of Truth--A Journey Derailed." The Modi government "has not constructively dealt with the agrarian crisis facing the nation and the indication of that is that every now and then in state capitals and the national capital, farmers die in protest. Farmers are still not assured of receiving the remunerative prices of their produce".
He said Sibal's book was a comprehensive analysis of the functioning of the Modi government in the last four years.
"It highlights the failure of this government to fulfill important promises made to the people on the eve of 2014 Lok Sabha elections," he said.
Referring Modi's 2014 promises of 2 crore jobs, Singh said the employment growth rate has been declining in the last 4 years.
"People are not impressed by the figures that are being put out by the Modi Government to justify the creation large number of jobs. Industrial production and exports are nearly stagnant. Programmes like Make in India and Stand up India are yet to make any meaningful impact on growth of industrial production.
"Small and marginal enterprises are yet derive any benefits from ease of doing business and demonetisation and hasty implementation of GST have badly hurt these enterprises.
Continuing his attack on Modi on his 2014 poll promises, Singh said nothing concrete was done to bring back black money stashed in foreign tax havens.
"Women, Dalits and minorities are increasingly living in an environment of insecurity. The Modi government has slowly but surely undermined the values that any democratic party, any democratic polity should fiercely protect.
"Our relations with neighbours have deteriorated in last 4 years. Modi government has failed to address issues relating to creative use of science and technology," he added.
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Right to life extends to all: SC questions Assam on detention of foreign nationals
New Delhi: The Supreme Court criticised the Assam government on Wednesday for failing to justify the detention of foreign nationals in transit camps and demanded an explanation from the state’s chief secretary, who has been asked to appear via virtual mode during the next hearing.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and N Kotiswar Singh emphasised that the fundamental right to life extends to all individuals, including foreigners. The court directed the state to take immediate steps to deport the detainees to their respective countries.
The bench was hearing a case concerning 270 individuals held in detention centres or transit camps in Assam. It observed that some detainees had been languishing in the camps for over a decade. "The affidavit submitted by the state fails to provide reasons for detaining these individuals and does not detail the steps taken for their deportation. This is a gross violation of the court's orders," the bench remarked.
The court had previously granted six weeks for the state government to file a compliance affidavit. Dissatisfied with the lack of a detailed response, the court instructed the chief secretary to clarify the non-compliance.
The Assam government’s counsel informed the court that the deportation of illegal migrants is coordinated through the Union government. He explained that the state is responsible for providing complete details, including contact information, to the Ministry of External Affairs, which verifies the identities of the migrants via diplomatic channels.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the Assam State Legal Services Authority to inspect the Matia transit camp, focusing on hygiene and food quality standards.
