PM manipulating data to boast about govt achievements: Yechuri
Kolkata, Dec 23: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri on Sunday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was resorting to manipulation of statistics to paint a rosy picture of his government's achievements.
Yechuri claimed Modi's announcement that 99 per cent goods will now attract 18 per cent or lower GST as a "post truth", since 97 per cent of merchandise or services already attract 18 per cent or less GST.
"The method adopted by Modi surpasses Goebells," he said, drawing a parallel with Hitler's Propaganda Minister during the Nazi rule in Germany.
"Statistics are manipulated to distort facts," Yechuri said, speaking at a seminar on Karl Marx's 200th birth anniversary celebrations, organised by the Communist Party of India(Marxist) here.
He also claimed that the prime minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were resorting to such manipulation to suit their interest and paint a rosy picture of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's achievements, when the ground reality was otherwise.
Modi had on Tuesday said in Mumbai, "Today, the GST system has been established to a large extent and we are working towards a position where 99 per cent items will attract the sub-18 per cent GST slab."
The GST Council on Saturday reduced tax rates on 23 goods and services, including movie tickets, TV and monitor screens and power banks, and exempted frozen and preserved vegetables from the levy.
With this cut, only 28 goods are now left in the highest 28-per cent tax bracket.
Yechury said in order to divert and dilute protests growing against the government over "miseries of people, the ruling BJP and similar other organisations are resorting to sharpening of communal polarisation."
Likening PM Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah with characters from the Mahabharata, the former Rajya Sabha member said, "Of the 100 Kauravas, we know the names of Duryodhan and Dushashan, just as in the BJP, we know of Modi and Shah."
"The Kauravas said how can five Pandavas defeat 100 of them, but eventually that happened; likewise the BJP claims to be invincible, but the state polls have shown they can be defeated," Yechury said.
He said the government's move to authorise 10 Central agencies to intercept any information on computers was an indication that the country was moving "towards a police state."
Alleging that the Centre wants to gag dissenting voice, he said people talking against the government are termed 'urban Naxalites'.
Yechury also criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for taking different stands in West Bengal and at the national level on upholding democratic rights.
He said that West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was "murdering democracy in Bengal and speaking of upholding it in the rest of the country."
The CPI(M) politburo member said in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, one has to be clear who are the real allies in the fight against the saffron party.
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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
