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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Udupi, Nov 11: The Karkala town police in Udupi have arrested Krishna Naik, the sculptor responsible for installing a 33-foot Parashurama statue at Umikkal Hill in Bailur, Karkala taluk. 

Naik, the owner of Krish Art World and a resident of Bengaluru's Visvesvaraya Layout, was apprehended in Mahe, part of the Union Territory of Puducherry, for allegedly substituting a look-alike statue in place of a genuine bronze figure at the Parashurama Theme Park in Karkala.

Udupi Superintendent of Police Dr. Arun K confirmed the arrest, stating that Naik faces charges under Sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code. 

This legal action followed a complaint lodged in June by Krishna Shetty, a resident of Nallur village, Karkala. Shetty claimed that Naik had received a payment of ₹1,25,50,000 from Udupi Nirmithi Kendra for the installation of a bronze Parashurama statue. However, Naik allegedly deceived the government by installing a replica instead.

The statue was unveiled on January 27, 2023, by then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has since ordered a CID investigation to probe deeper into the alleged fraud surrounding the statue's installation at the theme park.

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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 10,2024

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The media office in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli regime has been waging a genocidal war since last October, says as many as 188 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the onset of the brutal military onslaught.

The office provided the figure on Saturday, naming four journalists as the most recent victims of the onslaught.

It identified the foursome as Zahraa Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Ahmad Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Mustafa Khadr Bahar, and Abdel Rahman Khadr Bahar.

The office said it “strongly condemns the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation and holds it fully responsible for committing this heinous crime.”

“We call on the international community, international organizations, and those involved in journalistic work worldwide to take action against the occupation, pursue it in international courts for its ongoing crimes, and pressure it to halt the genocide and the targeted killings of Palestinian journalists,” it said.

Earlier in the day, the office said the Israeli regime had bombed the tents sheltering journalists and displaced persons at the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for the ninth consecutive time.

The atrocity that claimed the lives of two people and injured 26 others came as part of “the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against hospitals, civilians, and displaced persons,” it said.

The media office held the regime and the United States, its biggest ally, as well as other countries aiding the genocide fully responsible for such systematic crimes.

At least 43,552 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 102,765 others wounded since the launch of the war that followed a retaliatory operation by Gaza’s resistance groups.

The fatalities include 44 people, who were killed across the coastal sliver, in the most recent phase of the military onslaught.

As many as 24 of the victims were killed in the northern part of the territory, where the regime has markedly intensified its deadly attacks for weeks.

They included an eight-year-old child and a five-year-old one, who lost their lives after Israeli warplanes targeted a group of minors filling up jerry cans with water alongside their mother at the Jabalia Refugee camp.

Gaza’s heath ministry, meanwhile, said a number of victims remained under the rubble and in the streets following Israeli airstrikes, saying ambulances and civil defense teams could not reach them due to the sheer extent of the destruction caused by the raids and obstruction caused by the regime.

Also on Saturday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, a United Nations-backed assessment, warned that famine was looming in northern Gaza amid escalated Israeli aggression and the regime’s near-total siege of the targeted areas.

The alert from the Famine Review Committee warned of "an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine occurring, due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip."

On October 17, the body projected that the number of people in Gaza facing "catastrophic" food insecurity between November and April 2025 would reach 345,000, or 16 percent of the population.

The IPC report classified that figure as Phase 5 -- a situation when "starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident."

The Israeli military, however, questioned the report's credibility.

"To date, all assessments by the IPC have proven incorrect and inconsistent with the situation on the ground," the army said in a statement, denouncing "partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests."

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