Rahul Gandhi criticises PM Modi's economic policies

Agencies
September 12, 2017

Washington, Sep 12: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, accusing him of causing "tremendous damage" to India's economy with "reckless and dangerous" decisions like demonetisation and "hastily-applied" GST.

Gandhi, 47, who arrived in the US yesterday on a two- week-long tour, addressed students at the University of California, Berkeley, to reflect on contemporary India and the path forward for the world's largest democracy.

He said the November 8 demonetisation decision was taken without asking the Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament, which caused tremendous damage to the economy. Demonetisation, he alleged, imposed a devastating cost on India.

"Ignoring India's tremendous institutional knowledge and taking such decisions is reckless and dangerous," he charged. He said 30,000 new youngsters were joining the job market every single day and the government was only creating 500 jobs a day.

"This does not include the massive pool of already employed youngsters," he said. "The decline in economic growth today is leading to an upsurge of anger in the country. The government's economic policies demonetisation and hastily-applied GST have caused tremendous damage," he alleged.

Goods and Services Tax, a tax regime which combines all of India's states and union territories into a single market, was launched at midnight on June 30. Gandhi also accused the government of wiping out millions by demonetisation.

"Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of the demonetisation, farmers and many who use cash were hit extremely hard. Agriculture is in deep distress and farmers suicides have skyrocketed across the country."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, had said the fallout of demonetisation was on predicted lines and the economy will benefit in medium and long term.

Jaitley's remarks came after the Reserve Bank of India said that 99 per cent of the demonetised currency came back into the system. Jaitley had also insisted that money getting deposited in banks does not mean that all of it is legitimate.

But Gandhi described demonetisation "a completely self- inflicted wound" that caused approximately 2 per cent loss of the GDP.

India, the Congress leader said, cannot afford to grow and create jobs at the current rate. "If we continue at the current rate, if India cannot give the millions of people entering the job market employment, anger will increase and it has the potential to derail what has been built so far. That would be catastrophic for India and the world beyond," Gandhi warned.

The Congress vice president said that the central challenge for the country today is creating jobs. Noting that roughly 12 million young people join the Indian job market every year with nearly 90 per cent of them having a high school education or less, Gandhi said India, being a democratic country, cannot follow the Chinese model of coercion.

"Unlike China it has to create jobs in a democratic environment," he said, adding that India does not "want China's coercive" instruments. "We cannot follow the model of massive factories controlled by a few," Gandhi said.

Jobs in India, he said, are going to come in from small and medium scale industry. India, he asserted, needs to turn colossal numbers of small and medium businesses into international companies.

Alleging that currently all the attention in India is being paid to the top hundred companies, he said: "Everything is geared towards them, the banking systems are monopolised by them and the doors of government are always open to them."

"And laws are shaped by them," he said, adding that entrepreneurs running small and medium businesses are struggling to get bank loans.

"They have no protection and no support. Small and medium businesses are the bedrock of India and the world's innovation. Big businesses can easily manage the unpredictability of India. They are protected by their deep deep pockets and connections," he said. India, he said, has triggered a massive process of human transformation.

The momentum is so powerful that India's failure is no longer an option, he said, "Our success impacts the world," Gandhi said, warning that this momentum can be destroyed by "hatred, anger and violence".

"The politics of polarisation has raised its ugly head in India," he said, adding that liberal journalists are being shot. He was apparently referring to rights activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh's killing.

"People being lynched because they are Dalit," he alleged. "Muslims were killed on suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly."

He said the politics of hate divided and polarised India and was making millions of people feel that they have no future in their own country.

"In today's connected world this is extremely dangerous," he said. Gandhi at the same time also acknowledged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a better communicator than him.

"I'm an opposition leader. But Mr Modi is also my prime minister. Mr Modi has certain skills. He's a very good communicator. Probably much better than me. He understands how to give a message to three or four different groups in a crowd. So his messaging abilities very subtle and very effective," Gandhi said.

He was responding to a question on what does he think about Modi as the prime minister. "What I sense is that he doesn't converse with the people he works with. Even members of Parliament of the BJP come to me and tell me that 'sunte nahi hain' (he does not listen to us)," Gandhi added.

He said Modi must speak to the people who work with him. "I mean there is a lot of information that the opposition for example has. He is not really interested in that input. So that is what has been going on," he said.

Gandhi described Modi's flagship policies like 'Make in India' and 'Swachh Bharat' as a good idea. "On what they have done well? What I like? I like the concept of 'Make in India'. But the orientation of 'Make in India' is slightly different than what I would. So, the orientation of Make in India is big business and a lot of it is defence.My orientation of 'Make in India' would be small and medium businesses," he said.

Gandhi said he would like to carve out space for small and medium businesses and bring in experts from Silicon Valley and take these small and medium businesses and transforming them into global companies.

"Swachh Bharat is something that Mr Modi likes. The idea of hygiene I think is a good one. And I think I think the sort of stuff that they are doing on open defecation is not a bad thing," Gandhi said.

The Congress vice president said the impression that he was a reluctant politician was a result of the campaign against him by the other political camp.

"There is a BJP machine about a thousand guys sitting on computers that basically tell you about me," he said as the audience burst into laughter.

"They tell you, I am reluctant, I'm stupid. They tell you all these things," he said amidst another round of laughter and applause.

"All they do is spread abuse about it. And the operation is basically run by the gentleman who is running our country," Gandhi said.

Responding to a question, Gandhi said the country needs political reform. "Administrative reform is important. But much more important than administrative report is actually political reform. Today, the real problem in India is that our political machine.. they are not empowered the way they should be... The laws in India are made by the ministers and five or six people surrounding the minister.

"And until you make that process transparent and out into the open, you are not really going to transform the system," he said.

He said the lawmakers who should be formulating policies are today more worried about building roads.

"Today our MPs don't make laws. They are worried about building roads in villages. And they get punished for not building roads in villages. They should be making laws. They should be empowered to make laws. That's their job. And that is the fundamental thing that has this gone wrong in India," he said.

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News Network
November 11,2024

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The Manipur Kuki MLAs have released a statement calling out Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's 'lies' in the Supreme Court. In a joint statement, the MLAs, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said they had not had any meeting with the Chief Minister since May 3, 2023, nor did they intend to meet him in the future as “he was the mastermind behind the violence”.

As per the MLAs, the SG lied about state CM N Biren Singh speaking to Kuki MLAs to control the situation there, in order to halt a Supreme Court probe into the leaked tapes which allege that Singh has been complicit in the violence that broke out between Kukis and Meitis there.

"We...clarify that we have never had any meeting with Chief Minister, Shri N. Biren Singh since May 3, 2023, nor have any intention to meet him in future as he is the mastermind behind the violence and ethnic cleansing of our people from the Imphal valley, which is continuing till today, the latest being the brutal killing and burning of Mrs Zosangkim Hmar on November 7, 2024," the letter read, while condemning the recent 'barbaric' killing of the woman there, and noting the SG's assertion is 'tantamount' to misleading the top court.

“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically state that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the statement said.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by a Kuki organisation, asked that it submit audio tapes to substantiate its claim that the Chief Minister was instrumental in inciting and organising violence in the northeastern State.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta orally informed the court that the Chief Minister was meeting all the Kuki-Zo MLAs and that peace in the State had come at a huge cost.

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News Network
November 3,2024

Mangaluru, Nov 3: Mangaluru police have apprehended two individuals connected to a major online purchasing scam, seizing assets worth ₹11.45 lakh. The suspects, Raj Kumar Meena (23) and Subhash Gurjar (27), hail from Rajasthan and are accused of fraudulently acquiring high-value electronics through deceptive orders.

Background of the Case

According to City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, the case began with a fraudulent order placed through an international e-commerce company. Using a false identity under the name "Amrith," the suspects ordered two high-end Sony cameras along with ten other items, directing the delivery to an address near the KSRTC bus stand in Mangaluru on September 21 at 4 p.m.

The Scam Unfolds

During delivery, Raj Kumar Meena received the items by providing a delivery OTP, while Subhash Gurjar reportedly distracted the delivery personnel. The suspects then executed a sticker-swapping tactic, replacing original Sony camera box labels with stickers from other items in the order to mislead the delivery team. Meena also intentionally provided an incorrect OTP, causing further confusion. The duo told the delivery agent they would collect the cameras the next day, then sent him away before cancelling the camera order.

Detection and Arrest

The unusual activity raised suspicions, and upon inspection, Amazon’s delivery partner, Mahindra Logistics, discovered the sticker swap and alerted Amazon. Subsequent investigations revealed that the suspects had taken the genuine cameras and left behind tampered boxes.

Upon deeper investigation, CCTV footage and other tracking methods led the police to identify and pursue the suspects as they attempted to flee the city. Meena was initially detained by the Salem police on October 4 for a similar scam and subsequently transferred to Urwa police custody in Mangaluru. Following his 13-day custody beginning on October 18, which included a thorough probe in both Mangaluru and Jaipur, Subhash Gurjar was apprehended on October 21.

Broader Criminal Network

The arrested individuals are allegedly part of a larger network, with involvement in at least 12 other high-profile cases. Their targets included high-end cameras, iPhones, and laptops, each costing over ₹10 lakh, with cases registered across states like Assam, Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

The seized assets, valued at ₹11.45 lakh, have been presented to the court as evidence, and investigations continue as authorities seek to dismantle this organized fraud operation.

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News Network
November 5,2024

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Washington: The race between Democratic leader Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump for the White House has been truly unprecedented as it saw drama, tragedy, political comebacks, fierce rhetoric and a historically razor-tight contest.

As the fight reaches its crescendo with the big election day just a few hours away, many political observers billed the unpredictable race for the 47th President of the US as the most consequential one in decades while appearing to project a grim picture for the country’s future under a Trump presidency.

In her final days of campaign, Vice President Harris focused on a message of hope, unity, optimism and women rights whereas Trump remained fiercely combative in targeting his Democratic rival and even suggested that he may not accept the election outcome in case of a defeat.

Overall, it has been a roller-coaster ride for both 60-year-old Harris and 78-year-old Trump.

Trump received his party’s nomination in March and formally at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July — in a historic comeback after remaining in political wilderness for months following several court cases.

In effect, he became the first former president to get the nomination for the top office on the planet after being convicted of a felony.

“Trump has made one of the biggest political comebacks since Richard Nixon’s in terms of the political struggles that he has had in the last four years,” Communication Strategist Anang Mittal said.

Just days ahead of the RNC, Trump was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania. He suffered an upper ear injury. Minutes later, a bleeding Trump raised his fist in defiance, images that drew a lot of emotional support from his die-hard supporters.

For Harris too, it has been a dramatic ride after Biden ended his re-election campaign in July, nearly weeks after he came under severe scrutiny following his incoherent performance at a televised debate with Trump.

While dropping out from the race, Biden, 81, endorsed Harris to succeed him as the Democratic candidate.

Finally in August, the Democratic National Convention formally nominated Harris as the party’s candidate for the presidential election.

The presidential election will be a chance to “move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past”, she said in a powerful speech at the Convention.

If Harris wins, she will become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to become the US President.

In the overall campaign, Harris has been projecting the election as the one to protect the country’s fundamental freedoms, safeguard constitutional values and ensure women’s rights.

On his part, Trump has maintained his signature aggressive rhetoric and promising to rebuild the economy and rid the US from illegal immigrants.

However, there has been strong criticism of the Republican leader’s roadmap to repair the economy.

"Donald Trump is offering a vision of crony rentier capitalism that has enticed many captains of industry and finance,” said Joseph E Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate economist, in a column in Project Syndicate.

"In catering to their wishes for more tax cuts and less regulation, he would make most Americans’ lives poorer, harder, and shorter,” he said.

With election day just a few hours away, there is no clarity on who has a better chance of winning the race.

"The elections are very close. They (the outcome) may change on the basis of a few thousands votes here or there. I think the big issue will be voter turnout tomorrow. That will determine the outcome in certain swing states,” said Executive Director of the US chapter of Observer Research Foundation Dhruva Jaishankar.

Kapil Sharma, a non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programmes, also echoed similar views.

“This election is probably one of the closest elections that I can remember. I have been working in Washington for over 30 years and I don’t recall an election being this tight,” he said.

More than 78 million Americans have already cast their votes as of Sunday, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab that tracks early and mail-in voting across the US.

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