Chuppi Todiye Pradhan Mantri Ji

1
 All images shown in the cover of this booklet are of
people who participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra
along with Rahul Gandhi, members of the Congress
party and the lakhs of common Indian citizens.

2
1. The Economy : Why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in
India? Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property
being sold to PM Modi’s friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?

2. Agriculture and farmers : Why is it that the agreements made with farmers while
repealing the three black farm laws have not been honoured? Why has MSP not
been legally guaranteed? Why didn't farmers’ income double over the last 9 years?

3. Corruption and cronyism : Why are you putting people's hard-earned savings in
LIC and SBI at risk to benefit your friend Adani? Why are you letting thieves
escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BJP-ruled states, and why
are you letting Indians suffer?

4. China and National Security : Why is it that even after your clean chit to China
in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian territory? 18 meetings have been held
with China, yet why do they refuse to yield Indian territory and instead continue with
their aggressive tactics?

5. Social Harmony : Why are you deliberately using the politics of hatred for electoral
gains and fueling an atmosphere of fear in society?

6. Social justice : Why is it that your oppressive government is methodically

destroying the foundations of social justice? Why are you silent on the atrocities
against women, Dalits, SC, ST, OBCs and minorities? Why are you ignoring the
demand for a caste census?

7. Democracy and federalism : Why have you weakened our Constitutional values
and democratic institutions in the last nine years? Why are you practicing the politics
of revenge against Opposition parties and leaders? And why are you using blatant
money power to destabilise governments elected by the people?

8. Welfare schemes : Why is it that schemes for the welfare of the poor, needy and
tribals are being weakened by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules?

9. COVID-19 mismanagement : Why is it that despite the tragic deaths of over 40

lakh people due to COVID-19, the Modi government has refused to compensate their
families? Why did you suddenly impose a lockdown which forced lakhs of workers to
return home, and not provide any support?
3
 THE
ECONOMY

4
 1. The Modi government is silent on the relentless price rise which has resulted
in the highest-ever prices of LPG, petrol, diesel, and daily essentials :

The price of every daily essential is touching sky-high levels and wholesale inflation
at its highest in 30 years. Crores of families are suffering, especially women who
often manage household budgets.

LPG Petrol Diesel Mustard oil Atta Milk

2014 ₹410 /cylinder ₹71 /litre ₹55 /litre ₹90 /kg ₹22 /kg ₹35 /litre

2023 ₹1103 /cylinder ₹95-100 /litre ₹83-98 /litre ₹143 /kg ₹35 /kg ₹53 /litre

% increase 169% 57% 78% 58% 56% 51%

The Modi government refuses to even discuss rising prices. The PM never mentions
it, and the Finance Minister jokes about it when questioned and says the Opposition
should not ask questions. They blame the Ukraine war. In truth, the price of crude oil
on the world market has fallen by 30% between May 2014 to 2023 – from over $100 to
$70 for a barrel. Yet, the Modi government keeps on increasing prices of LPG, petrol
and diesel, which makes all other commodities expensive.

2. Unemployment crisis and stagnat- ment data estimate that between 2015-
ing wages : 23, wages for agricultural labour grew
only by 0.9% per year, for non-agricul-
PM Modi has completely failed in his tural labourers by 0.2% a year, and for
promise to create 2 crore jobs every construction workers actually reduced
year. In fact, the country is facing a se- slightly.
vere crisis of employment today. The
proportion of Indians looking for work 3. Blunder of demonetisation :
has fallen from 53% in 2014 to 48% by
Dec 2022, showing that crores of peo- 6 years after PM Modi’s disastrous de-
ple have stopped looking for work. This monetisation, the economic effects
was true even before the COVID-19 continue to haunt the country. None of
pandemic, which only accelerated the the ever-changing goals of the exercise
trend. Even amongst those looking for have been met. Black money remains,
work, many are unable to find work, and there’s no evidence that demoneti-
especially youth. Experts estimate that sation affected it. Corruption abounds
between 30-40% of youth are unem- as the BJP’s 40% sarkara in Karnataka
ployed, and unemployment is high- showed. The country did not even be-
est in youth who hold degrees. This is come cashless. In fact, cash in circula-
a tragedy which is crippling the future tion has increased between 2016 ans
of our country. Jobs are moving away 2022 by 71% to 30 lakh crores in 2022.
from formal and high income to low As a share of the country’s GDP, cash
income and vulnerable ones. Between has increased to 13.7% in March 2022
2017-18, the proportion of workers hold- from 11.6% in March 2014. The costs of
ing salaried jobs with regular wages fell this blunder were severe. More than 1.5
by 1.5% while vulnerable and unpaid million jobs were estimated to be lost in
"helpers in household enterprises" grew the first four months of 2017, mainly in
by over 3%. At the same time, wages small businesses and the informal sec-
have stagnated. Experts using govern- tor. Over a hundred people died. The
5
 Modi government has still not learnt the 5. Economic policies which help cho-
lesson - the scrapping of the Rs 2000 sen friends at expense of small and
note is yet another painful reminder. medium enterprises :

4. The Modi government is resort- The Modi government’s policies have

ing to tax terrorism and poorly de- consistently helped its chosen large
signed GST which punishes the corporate friends through tax cuts, loan
small and middle class to shore up write-offs and favourable contracts and
its revenues : rules, while neglecting small and medi-
um enterprises and the informal econ-
While PM Modi promised to eliminate omy. In 2019, the Modi Government re-
“tax terrorism”, his government has ex- duced the corporate tax slabs from 30
celled in finding innovative and bur- % to 22 %, with new companies paying
densome ways to tax Indians. By rely- only 15%. This resulted in a total loss of
ing heavily on a poorly designed GST `1.84 lakh crore. In addition, over the
to make up for a corporate tax cut, the past 7-8 years, ₹11 lakh crores of loans
Modi government is taxing the poor, made to big businessmen have been
and small businesses, to subsidize waived. The government has also an-
large corporations. GST is a tax on con- nounced ₹1.9 lakh crore in “produc-
sumption. The poor consume most of tion-linked incentives (PLI)” to large
their income, while the rich save larger businesses. This costly scheme has
parts of their income. As a result, GST been criticised by noted economist
hits the poor more, just like other indi- Raghuram Rajan, since it has not suc-
rect taxes. 64% of GST is collected from ceeded in boosting exports and creat-
the poorest 50% of Indians, and only 4% ing jobs, and may be subsidising com-
from the top 10%. As a result, the share panies for activities which they were
of income going to indirect taxes is six planning to undertake anyway.
times more for the poorest half of Indi- The costs of these tax cuts, loan write
ans compared to the top 10 %. offs and subsidies are borne by Indians,
Similarly, the poorly designed GST has who have to pay higher taxes for petrol,
disproportionately hurt small and me- diesel and GST. At the same time, there
dium businesses which are the back- are hardly any schemes for small busi-
bone of the economy. Small businesses nesses that have yielded any notable
find it hard to understand the six slabs result.. The government’s Emergency
with many exemptions. The rules are Credit Line Guarantee Scheme during
ever changing - between 2017-22, the the COVID-19 pandemic reached only
Modi government changed the rules about 20% of MSMEs, while 63% had
once every other day, with 869 noti- not even heard about it. It is no sur-
fications, 143 circulars and 38 orders. prise that big corporates are flourishing
Small businesses often have to register while lakhs of MSMEs have shut down,
in multiple states at times, and have to and the surviving ones are drastically
pay higher amounts for accountants cutting down operations.
and lawyers. Similarly, the vast number
of informal sector businesses are shut 6. Rise in inequality, poverty, hunger
out of the formal economy. and malnutrition :
The Modi government’s tax terrorist
instincts were once again on display The Modi government’s tenure has
when it attempted to introduce a 20% seen an unprecedented reduction in
tax collected at source on international incomes. The NSSO data which the PM
credit cards, another unnecessary tax suppressed shows consumer spend-
on the middle class. ing falling for the first time since 1973,
6 from ₹1,501 in 2011-12 to ₹1,446 in 2017-
 18. Experts show that the poverty levels sizing, the number of people working in
are likely much higher than govern- PSUs between 2014 and 2022 has fallen
ment claims, since urban poverty rose from 13 lakh to 8 lakh. Similarly, the jobs
by 2 percentage points during the 2016 in the railways have reduced from 18
demonetisation, and rural poverty has lakh to 12 lakh. Government jobs provid-
stopped reducing since 2019. Falling ed a pathway to a secure life for crores,
incomes at a time of rising costs has especially from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC
resulted in greater hunger and malnu- communities. The Modi government
trition. The number of hungry Indians has generated unemployment, and hit
increased from 19 crores in 2018 to 35 these communities the hardest.
crores in 2022. India’s children have the
highest rate of malnutrition, measured 8. Collapse of private investment,
by weight-for-height, at 19.3%, worse manufacturing and agriculture :
than in 2014 at 15.1%. While the poor are
growing poorer and hungrier, the rich Private investment is a key driver of the
are growing richer. 40% of the wealth economy. Private investment has fall-
created in India from 2012-2021 went en from the highs of over 25% of GDP
to only 1% of the population. When the in the second half of UPA-2 to 19.6% of
country suffered through COVID-19 be- GDP in 2021. Such a low level of private
tween 2020 and 2022, the total number investment has not been since 1999.
of billionaires in India increased from This is a sign that enterprises and in-
102 to 166 billionaires. The PM’s favour- vestors are concerned about the weak-
ite and favoured businessman, Gautam nesses of the Indian economy, despite
Adani, saw his wealth increase 14 times PM Modi’s hype, and is a significant
between 2017 and 2022, and climbed brake on economic growth. Similarly,
from rank 106 to rank 2. for all of the PM’s publicity on “Make in
India”, the share of manufacturing in
7. Neglect of public sector vacancies India’s GDP has fallen from 15.6% in 2015
in govt jobs and reckless sale of to 13.7% - an astonishing low not seen
public enterprises : since 1960. Experts are raising concerns
over “premature deindustrialization”,
The hypocrisy of PM Modi’s jobs prom- which seriously impedes economic
ise is best shown by the vacancies in growth. Similarly, the agricultural cri-
government positions and his reck- sis is well known, with farmers strug-
less sale and downsizing of PSUs. As gling with rising costs, uncertain prices
of August 2022, over 9.79 lakh posts and increasing variability of weather.
were vacant in Central Government of- With investment, manufacturing, and
fices. There are many more vacancies agriculture all slowing down, and con-
in PSUs, CAPFs, and similar bodies. Up sumption hit by inflation, every driver of
to thirty lakh vacancies are estimated economic growth has been damaged
to exist in government positions across by the Modi government’s failed eco-
India. Similarly, the Modi government is nomic policies.
closing down PSUs and reducing their
size.188 out of India's 247 PSUs are prof- 9. Over-reliance on failed jumlas and
itable. PSUs have earned over 2 lakh faked data :
crores while their losses have only been
Rs 15,000 crores. However, the govern- PM Modi’s over-hyped economic slo-
ment is proceeding with reckless and gans have all proven to be empty and
disastrous sales – the LIC IPO which re- fade away. “ Achhe Din”, "Make in India",
sulted in huge losses is only the latest “2 Crore Jobs Every Year”, “Atmanirb-
example. As a result of sale and down- har Bharat”, “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas”,
7
 “Skill India”, “Make In India” – the list is
endless.
To hide data on their shortcomings,
the Modi government has hidden all
data. The NSSO which provided poverty
numbers has been discontinued. The
Census, which has never been stopped
in 150 years even during World Wars,
has been delayed for over 2 years cit-
ing COVID-19. The government says it
has no data on no data on MSMEs shut
down due to demonetisation, no data
on the number of COVID-19 deaths in
the second wave, and no data on the
number of migrants affected due to the
lockdown. All independent data sourc-
es are discredited. The Modi govern-
ment has truly become NDA – No Data
Available!

8
 C T E
N ME

9
 1. Introduction of three black farm against peaceful farmers at Lakhmi-
laws and violence to farmers : pur Kheri, where Union Minister Ajay
Misra Teni’s son mowed down farm-
The three black farm laws were in- ers with his car.
troduced by the Modi government in
2020, with limited consultation with 2. Promises made to farmers dishon-
farmers and without debate in Par- oured, especially Minimum Support
liament. These laws favoured large Price (MSP) :
corporates by allowing unrestricted
trade and undermined farmers’ bar- A year and a half after the govern-
gaining power by weakening mandis. ment made promises to the farmers
It was a recipe for exploitation and to end their protest, it has not pro-
lower income for farmers, and they gressed towards fulfilling its prom-
bitterly opposed it. ises. The Government had promised
Rather than listening to farmers, the the farmers legally guaranteed MSP
Modi government met them with for all crops, using the C2+50% formu-
water cannons, teargas shells, barbed la which gave a margin over cost of
wire and barricades. They had to pro- capital and rent on land; assured pro-
test outside Delhi for more than 300 curement; loan waivers; and reduc-
days in the bitter cold, sweltering tion in input prices including those of
heat and face brutal violence by the fertilisers. None have been honoured,
State. Over 700 farmers died during leaving farmers vulnerable to high
the protest. The government’s cru- costs and low crop prices.
elty was best shown by the violence

3. The lie of doubling farmers income by 2022:

With slow agricultural growth of 3.5% in the Modi period of 2014-15 to 2022-
23, the dream of making higher income from agriculture seems like a distant
reality. The government’s own surveys show that the average income of a
farmer from growing crops is only ₹ 27 per day.
The Modi government has actually contributed to the rising input costs faced
by farmers by imposing for the first time GST on several key agricultural
inputs, shown below.

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS TAX RATE

Agricultural Equipment 12%

Tyres and other parts for tractors,
machines for processing and 18%
milling cereals or vegetables

Fertilizers 5%
Pesticides 18%

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4. Insufficient crop insurance under ₹1.33 lakh crore in the 2022–23 to ₹1.25
PM Modi’s, Pradhan Mantri Fasal lakh crore in 2023–24. As a share of the
Bima Yojana (PMFBY) : budget, the spending on agriculture
reduced from 3.4% to 2.8%. This shows
The much-hyped PMFBY crop insur- that the Modi government has depri-
ance scheme has proven to be un- oritized agriculture, even though it is
friendly to farmers and poorly de- currently in crisis.
signed. The scheme does not help
farmers against losses, since premi- 7. Failure to address farmer suicides :
ums are very high, and they have to
wait for many months for compensa- Modi government has not taken suffi-
tion which is usually only a fraction cient measures to address the under-
of the lost crop value. The main ben- lying causes of farmer suicides, such
eficiaries have been private insurance as debt burdens, crop failures, and lack
companies who have earned a profit of social support systems. The debt
of ₹34,929 crore from 2017-18 to kharif burden on farmers has grown from
2021-22. As a result, coverage has been `9.6 lakh crore in 2014 to `23.44 lakh
declining. The Parliamentary Standing crore in 2021-22. As a result, accord-
Committee on Agriculture highlight- ing to National Crime Records Bureau,
ed that area insured under PMFBY some 10,881 farmers and agricultural
has declined from 29% of sown area to labourers died by suicide in 2021, a 6%
25% from 2016-17 to 2019-20. Even the increase since 2019. This amounts to
BJP government in Gujarat had sus- one farmer or agricultural labourer dy-
pended its participation in PMFBY. ing by suicide every hours in 2021.

5. Reduction in farm subsidies : 8. Inadequate irrigation and water

management :
The government has reduced subsi-
dies on fertilizers, power, and irriga- In its 2014 election manifesto, the
tion, which have increased costs for Bharatiya Janata Party promised to
farmers, making farming economi- “increase irrigated land [by] complet-
cally unviable for many. For example, ing the long pending irrigation pro-
the fertiliser subsidy was reduced by jects on priority”. According to a 2019
nearly 25% - from a revised estimate Telegraph report, out of the 99 pro-
of ₹2.25 lakh crores in 2022-23 to a jects, 74 are still waiting for the con-
budget allocation of ₹1.75 lakh crores struction of field canals and command
in 2023-24. Similarly, the Market In- area development.
tervention Scheme and Price Support
Scheme was intended to help farmers 9. The falsehood of PM Kisan
when crop prices were low. Although Samman Nidhi :
it got ₹1,500 crore in the last Budget,
nothing was spent. It was practicaly The Union government under PM
discontinued in the 2023 Budget with Modi often makes claims that PM
an allocation of just r1 lakh. Kisan Samman Nidhi has benefitted
crores of farmers, however, in budget
6. Reducing agriculture’s share in the 2023 allocation towards this scheme
Union Budget : declined from ₹ 66,825 crores for 2021-
22 to ₹ 60,000 crores. Activists have
The Modi Government has been con- raised serious questions about the
tinuously reducing the share of ag- number of farmers actually benefit-
riculture from the Union Budget. ing, which are yet to be satisfactorily
The agricultural sector allocation de- answered.
creased by over ₹8,000 crore - from 11
 CO T ON
N C ONY M

12
1. Exploitation of Life Insurance Rs 1,025 in Lucknow airport. Adani has
Corporation of India : also refused to sell cheap electricity to
Haryana as it was required to by its orig-
The Adani MegaScam and the crash in inal power purchase agreement, and
Adani stocks led to losses to the tune got the BJP government in Haryana to
of `2 lakh crores for LIC, its sharehold- somehow agree to higher prices that
ers and ultimately risked the savings of will be paid by Haryana’s consumers.
its 30 crore policyholders. Who forced In Jharkhand the Adani group made
this pillar of India’s financial system to the then BJP government change the
take such a risky exposure to Adani that terms of its thermal power plant that,
even private fund managers, who are according to Jharkhand government
known to take risky bets, had chosen calculations, will cost Jharkhand con-
to avoid? Did these risky bets play any sumers `7,410 crore over 25 years. Is the
role in the fall of the share value of LIC enrichment of your friends more im-
that has underperformed the Nifty 50 portant than the welfare of Indian citi-
index by more than 30%? Did you pres- zens?
surise LIC to bail out your close friend
Adani? Why are you silent on the ques- 4. Wilful defaulters and thieves
tions raised by Rahul Gandhi on Adani allowed to escape :
in Parliament?
Why is it that wilful defaulters with
2. Lunch banking with State Bank of close personal links to PM Modi were al-
India : lowed to escape India? Nirav Modi and
Mehul Choksi scammed about `13,000
You have accused previous govern- crore from public sector banks while Vi-
ments of “phone banking” but what jay Mallya ran away with `9,000 crore.
about your own innovation of “lunch The top 50 bank defaulters in India ac-
banking”? In 2014, SBI agreed to sign counted for loans worth `68,607 crore
an MoU to lend the Adani Group $1 bil- being written off in the banking system
lion after a lunch meeting in Brisbane, until September 2019. Modi-ji’s friend
Australia, at which Gautam Adani, SBI Mehulbhai’s Gitanjali Gems tops the
chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya list of the defaulters with a whopping
and you were present. This became amount of `5,492 crore being written
necessary because Australian banks off.
had refused to fund Adani’s Carmichael
coal mine in Australia over environmen- 5. PM CARES scams :
tal concerns. Is the most-trusted public
sector bank in India simply a vehicle for The PM CARES fund reportedly col-
you to enrich your cronies? lected more than `10,000 crore in relief
funds from various ministries, celebri-
3. Price rise due to corruption : ties, business leaders and citizens. How-
ever, according to the official website,
The Adani group won six out of six air- the Fund has only spent `3,100 crore on
ports – Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Manga- ventilators, aid for migrant workers, and
lore, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvanan- vaccine development. Curiously, the
thapuram – that were privatised in 2019, government has insisted that the Right
and also took control of Mumbai airport to Information Act does not apply to
with the help of ED and CBI raids on the the Fund since it isn’t a public authori-
previous owner. As a result, user devel- ty, even though it uses the national em-
opment fees that every passenger has blem and is dependent on government
to pay in their tickets is going up 5-6 infrastructure. Is this because of scams
fold in many airports, e.g. from `192 to such as the purchase of 5,000 ventila-
13
 tors from Jyoti CNC that was accused 8. Electoral bonds used to favour the
of supplying mechanised ambu bags ruling party :
instead of ventilators to Ahmedabad’s
largest COVID-19 hospital? One of the Electoral Bonds - which were vehe-
business families associated with Jy- mently opposed by all political parties
oti CNC, KARP Group’s Rameshbhai and unconstitutionally passed as a Mon-
Bhikhabhai Virani, gifted PM Modi an ey Bill without discussion in Parliament
expensive suit costing `10 lakh with his - allow corporations to make large do-
name monogrammed all over it. Is this nations to political parties completely
how the trust of thousands of donors to anonymously, thus giving them signifi-
the PM CARES funds is to be returned? cant leverage for undue favour by par-
ties in power. It is no surprise that the
6. Silence on corruption in BJP-ruled suit-boot BJP is the primary recipient of
states : these donations. According to the Asso-
ciation for Democratic Reforms (ADR),
Numerous scams by BJP leaders in the BJP received 57% of the `9,191 crore
BJP-ruled states have gone unchecked in electoral bonds between March 2018
despite PM Modi proclaiming “Na and January 2023 for which audit re-
khaoonga, na khane doonga”. Most re- ports are available (the total bonds re-
cently, the BJP ran a 40% Commission deemed was Rs 11,985 crore). In 2018-19,
Sarkara in Karnataka, where the PM the year of the general election, the BJP
remained silent even after multiple let- received 74% of the `3,441 crore given
ters were written to him by the Contrac- in electoral bonds. An unholy cocktail
tors’ Association, and two associations of coercion and purported quid pro quo
of private schools. The Vyapam scam in favours needed to achieve this can only
Madhya Pradesh involving senior BJP be described as corruption.
leaders, the Haryana liquor scam, and
and many others also show the corrup-
tion in the BJP. Is there after all truth
in what former Governor Satyapal Malik
said in an interview, that the Prime Min-
ister is not bothered by corruption?

7. BJP washing machine at work :

A `16,000 crore mining scam by the

Bellary brothers of Karnataka was
washed clean after they re-joined BJP.
The whitewashing of Himanta Biswa
Sarma, an accused in the Saradha chit
scam, was made the CM after he joined
BJP. Suvendu Adhikari from West Ben-
gal, an accused in the Narada sting
who went on to join the BJP. Narayan
Rane was accused of a money-launder-
ing racket was made a Union Minister.
Home Minister Amit Shah accused the
NPP-led government in Meghalaya of
being the most corrupt government in
India, and BJP joined the government
post elections. All of these show that
corruption by BJP leaders has been
14 protected by the Modi government.
CH N N N T ON
EC TY

15
 1. BJP’s silence on China : 3. Absence of a national
security strategy :
PM Modi’s public “clean chit” to China
on 19 June 2020 immeasurably weak- In nine years the Modi government
ened India's negotiating position and has failed to produce a National Se-
the country is paying a heavy price for curity Strategy that lays out how In-
it. The Modi government has already dia will achieve its security objectives
ceded territory in Galwan, Pangong using various instruments of national
Tso, Gogra Post and Hot Springs by power, be they military, diplomatic or
agreeing to buffer zones inside In- economic. In 2019 the Congress Party
dian territory in return for a Chinese drafted a National Security Strategy
withdrawal. Access to the strategic authored by Lt Gen (Retd) DS Hoo-
Depsang Plains, an area of 1,000 sq da. But on 29 December 2022 former
km, has been denied to Indian pa- Chief of Army Staff MM Naravane la-
trols for more than three years now, mented that the Modi government
with no signs of a return to the status was pursuing defence reforms in the
quo. Furthermore China was embold- absence of an overall strategy. This is
ened to attempt to capture territory a clear failure of a lack vision.
in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, but
was foiled in its designs by our vigi- 4. Illegal use of Pegasus spyware :
lant and proactive forces. Now it is re-
ported that, far from withdrawing, Israeli Pegasus spyware was illegally
the Chinese are demanding a “buffer used to target politicians, 40 Indian
zone” 15-20 km further inside Indian journalists, academicians and civil so-
territory in Depsang. This after having ciety activists in India. It was reported
already intruded 18 km past our right- that the Modi government bought
ful border. Yet the PM is afraid to take Pegasus as part of a $2 billion arms
the name of China. When will the PM deal with Israel in 2017. Using a for-
end his silence on China? eign-owned and operated spyware
could have exposed Indian secrets to
2. Pulwama lapses : foreign agencies. Using this taxpayer-
funded spyware against political op-
Forty Central Reserve Police Force ponents, apart from being illegal, is
(CRPF) jawans were killed on 14 Feb- a complete violation of the norms of
ruary 2019 in a terrorist attack on Indian democracy. The Modi govern-
their convoy in Jammu and Kash- ment refused to cooperate with the
mir's Pulwama district. For 10-12 days Supreme Court-monitored commit-
a car loaded with RDX freely roamed tee that investigated the allegations,
the streets of Kashmir without alert- and the report has not been released
ing authorities, hunting for its target. to the public.
Former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik
alleged that the modi government 5. Northeast in flames :
had rejected a CRPF request for air-
craft, forcing the jawans to travel by At a time when China is threatening
road in a vulnerable manner. When our borders the Modi government
he acknowledged the failure, PM has permitted tensions in the north-
Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and east to rise. Assam-Mizoram tensions
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval escalated on 26 July 2021 after clash-
asked him to remain quiet and to not es erupted between their respective
allow the government to be made ac- police forces, leaving seven dead and
countable for any security lapses or 60 people injured. Six of those killed
16 intelligence failures. were policemen from Assam.
 In Manipur, over 40,000 people have 8. Agnipath scheme :
been displaced and around 2,000
homes damaged. At least 75 people The poorly-conceived Agnipath
lost their lives and hundreds injured scheme will weaken our national se-
in terrible violence that has spread curity, damage unit cohesion and
across multiple districts in Manipur create a skew in the representation of
since 3 May 2023. This is the result of all communities in our most impor-
BJP's “double engine” governments. tant national institution, the Indian
Armed Forces. It will recruit fewer
6. BJP’s disturbing links with terrorism : youth for service in the armed forces,
give them less training than before
The Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Talib and will release a large number of
Hussain Shah, who had been cap- military personnel into an uncertain
tured in Jammu and Kashmir by the job market every year, which could
local residents, was a BJP office-bear- affect social stability
er in the state. Former BJP leader
Tariq Ahmad Mir was arrested in 2020
for procuring weapons for Hizbul Mu-
jahideen commander Naveed Babu.
In 2017, Assam BJP leader Niranjan
Hojai was sentenced to life imprison-
ment. He was found to be involved in
a scam worth Rs. 1,000 crore in which
funds were diverted to support a mili-
tant group.

7. Inadequate defence budget :

The defence budget, including pen-

sions of 25-30 lakh veterans, has fall-
en to below two per cent of GDP for
the first time in decades. This is being
done as threats from China and Paki-
stan loom on our borders.

17
 OC
H MONY

18
1. Deliberate targeting of religious 3. Targeting and neglecting states of
minorities : India for electoral gains :

The Modi government and the rul- When the BJP perceives electoral
ing BJP have systematically targeted gains, they do not hesitate to malign
religious minorities. The unconstitu- entire states. The Home Minister im-
tional Citizenship Amendment Act plied that Kerala was a threat during
had the sinister purpose of differen- his election campaign in Karnataka,
tiating Indian citizenship on religious while the Prime Minister promoted
grounds. Campaigns are whipped up a film that defamed Kerala via mali-
on fictitious issues to polarise voters cious exaggeration. Having come to
on religious lines, as we saw recently power promising peace in Manipur,
in Karnataka, which are irrelevant to the BJP has completely neglected
daily lives of Indians but serve the rul- the state. PM Modi and Home Min-
ing party’s electoral interests. A BJP ister Amit Shah chose to continue
factory of hate and propaganda has campaigning in Karnataka even as
been established on WhatsApp and violence raged in Manipur, showing
other social media. It is meant to cre- their contempt for the urgent needs
ate an atmosphere of insecurity in the of the Northeast. In Kashmir, the
country and help the BJP win votes Modi government’s missteps have an-
from voters fearful of imaginary or ex- tagonised residents of Jammu, Kash-
aggerated threats. mir and Ladakh. Recall that Kashmiri
minorities were forced to flee the val-
2. Encouraging hate speech and hate ley during the BJP-supported Nation-
crimes : al Front government in 1990, but that
has not prevented the BJP from polit-
The Modi government has openly icising their plight for electoral gain.
encouraged hate speech and hate The irony is that the UPA implement-
crimes, contributing to the spread of ed a major housing and rehabilitation
divisive sentiment and the erosion of package for displaced Kashmiri Hin-
national integration. Data shows that dus in 2008, which the BJP’s heart-
cases under Section 153A of the IPC lessness has led to the first killings of
(promoting enmity on the ground of Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs since the
religion, race, and place of birth) have 1990s under the Modi government.
increased by six times in 2020 com-
pared to 2014. Between 2009 and 4. The Prime Minister never calls for
2019, 91% of recorded hate crimes oc- peace :
curred only after the Modi govern-
ment came to power in 2014. No ac- In times of social unrest, it is crucial
tion is taken on high-profile incidents for leaders to play a unifying role by
such as Union Ministers saying “goli promoting dialogue, understand-
maaro” about peaceful protestors, ing, and reconciliation. However, the
BJP leaders threatening and initiat- Prime Minister has completely failed
ing riots in Delhi, BJP government in to do so. Despite his continuous
Gujrat releasing Bilkis Bano’s rapists stream of activity and statements, he
and BJP leaders sharing the stage never calls for peace and harmony
with them, and ostensibly religions in India – not when peaceful protes-
gatherings in different parts of the tors are attacked, not when riots hap-
country where hatred and calls for pen in Delhi, and not when Manipur
violence are openly propagated. burns This is perhaps unsurprising
for a leader who came to prominence
during riots in his own state of Gujrat,
a singular failure of administration 19
that he has yet to answer for.
 OC
T CE

20
1. Rising atrocities against Dalits : been eliminated. Similarly, 18 lakh
people were employed in Railways
Under the Modi government, the in 2014 but the number has reduced
number of atrocities against Sched- drastically to 11.8 lakh people today.
uled Castes has increased from 39,327 The privatisation of health and edu-
in 2013 to 50,900 in 2021 according to cation is further reducing job oppor-
the National Crime Record Bureau. tunities for people from SC, ST and
This is a 23% increase, from 19.6 to OBC communities..
25.3 per lakh SC population. The big-
gest increases in the rate of atrocities 5. Erosion of Adivasi rights :
have occurred in the large BJP-ruled
states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar The 2006 Forest Rights Act was a his-
Pradesh. toric legislation that conferred land
and livelihood rights – both individual
2. Failure to hold a Caste Census to and community – to Adivasi, Dalit,
enumerate OBCs : and other families living in forest ar-
eas of the country. During the UPA
OBC reservations need to be ration- period the Union government was re-
alised with empirical data to ensure quired to verify the consent of the for-
proportional representation. The na- est dwellers and ensure recognition
tional census enumerates the popu- of their rights over the forest before
lation of SCs and STs but there is no private projects could be approved.
official data about OBCs. The UPA Under the Modi government’s Forest
carried out the Socio Economic and (Conservation) Rules, 2022, the forest
Caste Census but its data has been land can be handed over even before
suppressed, and the Modi govern- the state government gets the con-
ment refuses to commit to a new sent of the forest dwellers. This has
Caste Census. completely undermined the rights of
forest-dwelling communities and is
3. Exclusion of SC, ST and OBC in the aimed at enriching the BJP’s cronies.
EWS quota :
6. War on minority education :
The reservation quota for Economi-
cally Weaker Sections excludes SC, ST While claiming to support the educa-
and OBC category individuals even tion of religious minorities, the Modi
though EWS is an economic rather government has slashed funding for
than a caste-based reservation. The education and scholarships for 20%
poor of all communities are economi- of the population. On 25 November
cally weak and therefore deserving of 2022, the government discontinued,
EWS quotas. in part, the pre-matric scholarships for
minorities for classes 1 to 8. The gov-
4. Attack on reservations through ernment had stopped the 18-year-old
reckless privatisation of PSUs : padho pardesh (study abroad) pro-
gram that provided an interest sub-
The Modi government has launched sidy on education loans for students
an attack on SC, ST and OBC reserva- from minority communities studying
tions by recklessly privatising PSUs. abroad.
The number of people working in
PSUs has fallen from more than 13 7. Violence against women :
lakh in 2014 to only eight lakh today.
This means that 2.5 lakh jobs reserved Women’s safety continues to dete-
for these disadvantaged groups have riorate nationwide. Crimes against 21
 women have gone up from 3.1 lakh against the victims. Most recently, it
in 2013 to 4.3 lakh in 2021, which is a has chosen to back its MP Brij Bhush-
20% increase in the rate of crime af- an Singh despite serious accusations
ter controlling for population growth. by India’s Olympic medal-winning
Recently, there was a 15% increase in wrestlers of sexual harassment by him
crimes against women in only one of athletes, forcing them to launch a
year, from 2020 to 2021. This violence months-long protest at Jantar Mantar.
prevents women from fully partici- The hypocrisy of Modi government’s
pating in public life, in economic ac- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign
tivities and from fulfilling their po- has been exposed and now the people
tential. The BJP’s anti-women attitude are saying, BJP se Beti Bachao.
exacerbates this problem. According
to the Association for Democratic Re- 8. Low public procurement from SC-
form, 21 BJP MPs and MLAs have cas- and ST-owned businesses :
es of crimes against women lodged
against them, the highest number The UPA had introduced reservation
of cases from a single political party. in public procurement from MSME’s
Whether it is Kuldeep Singh Sengar, owned by SCs and STs. But imple-
the BJP MLA implicated in the Unnao mentation by the Modi government
rape case or the Modi government’s has been lackadaisical, and not even
approval of the early release of the 1% of the MSMEs from which goods
Bilkis Bano rapists and murderers, or and services are produced belong to
the cover up of the Hathras rape case, SCs and STs.
the BJP seems to stands for rapists

22
EMOC CY
N E E M

23
 1. Undermining elected governments 4. Dysfunctional Parliament :
with money power :
The 16th Lok Sabha (2014-19) had the
Opposition-led state governments in lowest sitting ever of 331 days. The 17th
Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Lok Sabha (2019-24) will likely beat this
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and dubious record with even fewer sitting
Manipur fell after the BJP used blatant days. The expenditure of five ministries,
money power and threats of investiga- listed for discussion in the Lok Sabha,
tion to induce MLAs to switch sides. By was not discussed. The proposed ex-
the time the courts rule on their illegal- penditure of all ministries, amounting
ity, as occurred in Maharashtra, it be- to `42 lakh crore, was passed without
comes too late to go back to the status any discussion. In the period of the Modi
quo, cementing these illegal actions. government on average, 79 percent of
the budget has been passed without
2. Misuse of investigative agencies : discussion.

Between 2004 and 2014, the Enforce- 5. India becomes an electoral autocracy :
ment Directorate (ED) took action against
26 politicians, of whom 54% were in the The inability of the once proudly inde-
then Opposition. After 2014 the ED took pendent Election Commission of India to
action against 121 politicians of whom act against blatant violations of electoral
95% are in the Opposition. The story with law by the ruling party is just one sign of
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) democratic backsliding under the Modi
is no different. Between 2004 and 2014, Sarkar. V-Dem now describes India as an
the CBI investigated 72 politicians of “electoral autocracy” because of the cur-
whom 60% were in the opposition. After tailment of rights of the press, academia
2014, the number rose to 124 of whom and civil society organisations since 2014.
95% were in the Opposition. Very clear- Freedom House ranks India as “partly
ly, the investigative agencies have been free” because of the curtailment of citi-
reduced to tools of political intimidation zens’ rights, intimidation of academia
rather than genuine investigation. Under and the cancellation of FCRA licences of
Modi and Shah, the BJP lures politicians more than 20,000 NGOs.
using money power and the promise of
freedom from investigation, the infa- 6. Federalism weakened by the Modi
mous BJP Washing Machine. government :

3. Abuse of sedition law : The Goods and Services Tax (GST) involved
India’s states giving up a modicum of fis-
Until the Supreme Court placed the colo- cal autonomy in return for promises of
nial-era sedition law on hold in 2022, the compensation from the Centre. Yet the
BJP had been freely misusing the law to Modi government held back compen-
silence legitimate criticism. According sation when the states needed it most
to the publication Article 14, 96% of sedi- during COVID-19, forcing them to bor-
tion cases filed against 405 Indians for row from the market and increase their
criticising politicians and governments indebtedness. The government has in-
over the last decade were registered creasingly resorted to cesses rather than
after 2014, with 149 accused of making taxes since cess revenues do not need to
“critical” and/or “derogatory” remarks be shared with the states, thereby ren-
against PM Modi and 144 against Uttar dering the slogan of “cooperative feder-
Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. alism” hollow. Apart from delaying GST
Using sedition to quell free speech can compensation, the Modi government has
only be described as anti-national. also attempted to take control of land
24 registration which is a valuable source of
revenue for many large states.
 E E
CHEME

25
 1. MGNREGA is being deliberately 3. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao only for
weakened, hurting 15 crore advertisement, while Nirbhaya
households : funds remain unspent :

PM Modi has never believed in MGN- The government spent a whopping

REGA, and vilified it on the floor of 80% of funds under its flagship Beti
Parliament. However, he was forced Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme on me-
to recognize its importance during dia campaigns, found the Parliamen-
the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was tary Committee on Empowerment of
the principal source of earning for Women.
rural workers. However, since then, ₹9,177 crore worth of projects had
the budget has been reduced to Rs. been approved under the Nirbhaya
60,000 crore, the lowest in five years. fund from 2014 and 2021. Per the gov-
Accounting for backlogs, this is only ernment’s own data, only 49% of this
enough to provide 60 days of work to has been released and 34% was spent.
the 15 crore households who benefit This shows that PM Modi’s interest in
from MGNREGA. women’s rights is only in publicity,
In addition, rules are being changed not in substance.
to weaken MGNREGA. Workers must
mark their attendance in a new 4. Nutrition for children is neglected
smart-phone based app at a specif- even as food costs rise :
ic time. This is causing chaos, since
workers are often not tech savvy, in- To ensure that every child gets the
ternet is unreliable in rural areas, or nutrition they need, the government
the server might be down. In addi- runs anganwadi centres, and provides
tion, workers will now only get paid if meals to these and to schools. How-
they are enrolled in the “Aadhaar en- ever, PM Modi does not understand
abled payment system”, even though or care about child nutrition, as Indi-
57% of workers do not use it. These ans learnt in 2012 when he attributed
complex rules are causing workers to malnutrition in Gujarat to vegetarian-
lose wages despite their hard work. ism and beauty-conscious girls. This
also shows in his government’s priori-
2. The Ujjwala scheme has limited ties: despite ever-rising costs of food
benefits due to highest ever prices and fuel, budgets to mid-day meals
of LPG : in schools were reduced by 10% in
2023, and the budget for Anganwadis
The price of a gas cylinder has in- remains lower in 2023 than it was in
creased from ₹410 during UPA years 2018.
to ₹1103 today, an increase of over 2
and a half times. The cost of a domes- 5. Health schemes lack vision and
tic LPG cylinder has increased by 90% funding :
since May 2020.
In 2021, nearly 90 lakh households The Modi government’s piecemeal
could not afford even one refill, while health schemes have fallen far short
1 crore households could afford only of meeting people’s needs for acces-
one refill. Therefore, it is no surprise sible and affordable health care. The
that many rural households do not Ayushman Bharat scheme is lim-
benefit. Government data shows ited – it covers less than 30% of hos-
that despite having gas connections, pital charges, covers medicines only
about 47% of rural households still 15 days after discharge, and removes
depend on wood and dung cakes. benefits of other schemes. Thus, it is
26
 not surprising that despite distribut- 8. Successes of Swachh Bharat Abhi-
ing 12.5 crore cards between 2018-21, yan are exaggerated, and hide true
only 1.23 crore people availed ben- challenges :
efits. Even during COVID, RTI que-
ries show that only 12% of admitted Despite PM Modi repeatedly claiming
patients were treated for free under that India is 100% open defecation
Ayushman Bharat. At the same time, free, it is clear to every Indian that
the share of the Budget allocated this is not true. A report by the World
to health has declined from 2.5% in Health Organization and UNICEF
2019-20 to 2.1% in 2023-2024. shows that at least 15% per cent of the
total population in India defecates in
6. Scholarships for Dalits, Adivasis, the open. In addition, a CAG report
OBCs and minorities have been shows that many toilets constructed
stopped : under the mission could not be used
because of lack of household water
From 2023, the Modi Government has connection.
stopped pre-matric scholarship pro-
gram for students from classes 1 to 8
belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC),
Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Back-
ward Classes (OBC), and minority
communities. Similarly, the Maulana
Azad National Fellowship Scheme
which provided scholarships for stu-
dents from minority communities
to pursue MPhil or PhD has been
scrapped.

7. Pensions for the elderly, widows

and people with disabilities remain
inadequate :

Throughout its term, the Modi gov-

ernment has refused to increase the
amount of pension distributed, re-
taining it at Rs. 200 per month for
the elderly and Rs. 300 per month for
widows and persons with disabilities.
As a result, these schemes have re-
duced by more than half as a share
of the budget – from 0.6% in 2014 to
0.3% in 2023.

27
28
The Modi government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has
been careless, insensitive, mismanaged, and dishonest. Their
failures directly contributed to nearly half a crore Indians dying,
the highest in the world per the World Health Organization.

1 Modi Govt. failed to heed warnings at any time. However, the Modi gov-
on the serious threat posed by ernment was too busy celebrating to
COVID-19 : prepare our health system properly.
When the second wave hit, there was
Despite warnings from Rahul Gan- a severe shortage of doctors and nurs-
dhi, the Modi government failed to es, hospital beds, and supplies like ox-
acknowledge COVID-19 as a health ygen cylinders and medicines. There
emergency in early 2020. Even when were numerous protests by doctors,
it responded, the PM and his Minis- nurses and other frontline workers
ters, rather than telling Indians how to against the lack of resources. Every
prevent the spread of COVID-19, spoke day, people struggled to find hospital
about irrelevant measures like bang- beds and oxygen, especially in cities.
ing thalis. After the first wave ended,
the PM prematurely declared victo- 4 Government mismanaged vaccine
ry and relaxed measures before the supplies to states, and to friendly
deadly second wave. foreign countries :

2 The sudden lockdown with 4 hours The Modi govt completely botched the
notice hurt 4 crore migrant workers : vaccine strategy, at first they exported
vaccines through the opaque Vaccine
The Modi Government announced a Maitri scheme and forced states to try
nationwide lockdown with only four to secure vaccines from the market
hours notice which suddenly halted amidst a global scramble. And when
economic activity, triggered a terrible the second wave arrived, we were
humanitarian crisis and disrupted the forced to suspend exports, affecting
livelihood of 4 crore migrant work- several countries depending on India’s
ers. For weeks they walked with their assurances and reducing our interna-
families back to their homes, without tional reputation, especially amongst
any regular supply of food and water. developing countries.
They were left completely stranded by
the BJP government. Many migrant 5 The Government deliberately hid
workers and their family members COVID data :
died during this period. It has been
considered the largest displacement The World Health Organisation (WHO)
of workers and families in India since reports 47 lakh Covid-19 deaths in In-
Partition. dia, the highest number of deaths due
to COVID-19 in the world. However the
3 The failure to strengthen health sys- Modi Government claims only 5.3 lakh
tem led to lakhs of avoidable deaths deaths. The government made every
in the 2nd wave : attempt to suppress true data and re-
porting. This was worse in BJP-ruled
After the first wave, experts and the states – for example, in BJP-ruled Uttar
experience of other countries made Pradesh, even as desperate families
it clear that a second wave may occur resorted to disposing of bodies in the
29
 Ganga, the govt. says only 23,700 peo- What happened to the rest of the
ple have died of COVID-19. There are money? The Modi Govt. insists that
nearly a lakh villages in U.P., meaning PM-CARES is a private fund, despite
only one person lost their life in every being headed by the PM and having
four villages! – any Indian can see that Union Ministers as trustees. They use
this data is fabricated. this as a convenient excuse to hide
The Modi government’s fudging of how they spent public money and re-
data insults those who suffered and fuse to answer RTI requests and avoid
served bravely at the cost of their lives. public audits by the CAG.
The Health Ministry says nobody died
due to oxygen shortage. The govern- 8 Flawed vaccination strategy :
ment also says it has no data on how
many migrant workers died, how The government wasted precious
many healthcare workers died, or how months with a deeply flawed “smart
many police personnel died during vaccination plan” to control the pan-
the COVID-19 pandemic. demic without vaccinating the entire
population. Despite a Parliamentary
6 Government Prioritised Election Ral- Standing Committee recommending in
lies and Mass Gatherings over COV- November 2020 that universal vaccina-
ID-19 safety : tion was critical, the Modi government
did not plan for this until late April 2021.
The government allowed large po- The Modi government, therefore, did
litical rallies, religious gatherings, and not place enough orders for vaccines
election campaigns to take place dur- before the second wave. In addition,
ing the second wave of the pandemic. PM Modi made India the only country
For example, when lakhs of cases a in the world to require state govern-
day were being reported, BJP leaders ments to procure vaccines, which were
were busy with election campaigns also priced at 3-4 times the cost to the
in West Bengal. The Prime Minister, Center. The Modi government wasted
Home Minister and 109 other leaders another two and a half months before
held massive rallies with crowds who listening to the outcry from public and
did not wear masks or practice social experts, and reversing this policy.
distancing.
9 Mismanagement worsened the eco-
7 PM Modi set up PM-CARES, but nomic crisis in the Country :
refuses to tell people how he spent
their donations : Due to the mismanagement by the
government, 4 crore migrant workers
PM Modi set up a new “PM-CARES” were pushed to further poverty in the
fund and personally appealed to the country. Daily wage earners, labourers,
public, who reportedly donated Rs. small shopkeepers and other informal
10,000 crores. His government also sectors faced a severe crisis during the
forced public institutions like PSUs, pandemic. According to Consumer
Govt-run firms, educational institu- Pyramids Household Survey data 2021,
tions and even the armed forced to rural poverty increased by 9.3% points
contribute to the fund. The official and urban poverty by over 11.7% points
website for PMCARES says only Rs. from December 2019 to December
3,100 crore has been spent on ventila- 2020. India also faced the largest
tors, aid for migrant workers, and vac- drop in GDP growth rate in the world
cine development. Some ventilators — -21.4% in April-June Quarter 2020 —
procured through the Fund were even a disaster our economy is still trying to
30 found to be defective. recover from.
31