NEW DELHI, 9 February: The stage is set for India’s 2024 Parliamentary elections, with PM Modi scouting for a third term. The opposition Congress and Modi’s BJP have come out with their versions of the government’s performance from 2014 to 2024. The Congress’ 57-pages ’10 Saal Anyay Kaal 2014-2024′ (Black Paper) and BJP’s 59-pages ‘White Paper On The Indian Economy’ (White Paper), is a war of words with both sides blaming each other for economic non-performance during the Modi-led BJP govt (2014-2024), and the Manmohan Singh-led UPA govt (2004-2014).
The two documents bring to the fore economic and other issues. It remains to be seen how much leverage economic issues will have in the elections, where often caste, faith and regional issues dominate.
The Black Paper in its introduction sets the tone by saying, ” The Modi government’s 10 years in power have devastated the country’s economy, aggravated unemployment, destroyed the country’s agriculture sector, abetted crimes against women and committed grave injustices against minorities in the country. Here is the chargesheet of BJP’s anyay during its decade in power.” Read Full document: 10SAK PDF ENG
The White Paper says, ” From a healthy economy in 2004 to a stagnant economy in 2014: The UPA Government inherited a healthy economy ready for more reforms, but made it non-performing in its ten years.” And, the Modi-govt has in the last 10 years managed and governed the economy well and placed the country on a resolute path of sustained high growth. Read full document: White Paper – 08022024
ANI adds:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on said that the Black Paper, released by Congress to highlight the performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the last 10-year rule, is a ‘Kaala Teeka’ for him since everything is going so well in the country.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said that even a single sentence of the ‘White Paper’ is not false and the people of the country have the right to read it. “The Opposition used to raise tens of questions… To clarify all doubts, the Modi government brought the facts to the floor… Now everything is in the front… Everything is out in the open for evaluation… Not even a single sentence
Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, after releasing the ‘Black Paper’ addressing a press said the “Black Paper” highlights “failures” of the government on unemployment, price rise, and farmers’ distress.
“We are raising the main issue of unemployment, which the BJP never talks about,” he said.
“The government will never say how many people got jobs. They are not releasing MGNREGA funds. They are discriminating against states,” Kharge said.
Countering the Centre’s attack on Congress ideologues Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, he said, “They (the government) compare inflation data to the time of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi…you are ruling today, what steps have you taken to curb the inflation are important.”
