KEY STORY
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The Opposition on Wednesday criticised the President’s address to both Houses of Parliament on January 31, with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge saying that the speech lacked substance, did not touch upon critical issues and had nothing in it for the poor, marginalised, farmers and women.
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Taking part in the discussion on motion of thanks on the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge said it was devoid of vision or policy statement and did not address fundamental issued faced by the people. He said there was no mention of important issues such as inflation and unemployment.
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Attacking the government, he said: “You keep asking us what we did in 70 years. How many times will you say that? If we hadn’t done anything in 70 years, you wouldn’t be alive today… you are holding big positions because of the democracy and Constitution we have today… Your work is less, but publicity is more.”
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The Congress leader said that whenever the Opposition questioned the government’s work, the staple response was that religion was under danger. Kharge raised issues related to unemployment, inflation, crumbling of the MSME sector, economic inequality and harassment of the minorities.
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He said the government failed to live up to its 2014 promise of providing 20 million jobs every year, adding that more than 900,000 vacancies in different departments were yet to be filled.
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He said a total of 60% of MSME units had shut down but no measures were taken to revive the sector. He also attacked the government over its alleged failure to provide optimal employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
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Taking part in the discussion, CPI(M) MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya said the President’s address did not touch upon the basic realities of the country and sought to present a rosy picture. He said the farm laws, passed by both Houses of Parliament, were scrapped in the Mann Ki Baat radio address by the PM. “Is this the democratic process,” he asked.
CONCLUSION
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DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said after the government came to power, “democracy is in peril, secularism is at stake, federalism is targeted, state rights encroached and transgressed, economy shattered, minorities unsafe and public sector crushed”. He said the government had promised minimum government and maximum governance, but the reality was “maximum government and no governance.”
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“Bedtime stories of children are built on maximum imagination, but what they are telling now exceeds bedtime stories,” he added.
