Bengaluru: The Modi government had done nothing in one year, except rebranding, redesigning and renaming the schemes implemented by the UPA government, Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, in-charge of AICC communications department and a former union minister, told reporters here on Monday.
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of claiming schemes implemented by the UPA government, and lowering the image of the country on foreign soil, he said, “We have seen and heard Modi and BJP taking credit for JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile numbers) trinity. But these schemes were conceived and implemented by the UPA government. All that BJP did was, they changed the names. Let them credit for this and not for the schemes,” Sharma said.
Terming the one-year rule of Modi as “a year of disappointment, broken promises and shattered dreams,” Sharma accused Modi and the BJP of failing to fulfil it’s poll promises. “BJP cannot claim to have fulfilled even one promise, be it bringing back black money within 100 days, creation of jobs, economic progress etc.” Sharma took strong exception to Modi’s claim that he inherited a weak economy from the UPA.
Under the UPA, the country’s GDP grew four fold from $500 billion to $2 trillion in a decade. This is the highest ever GDP growth registered by any country in a decade. Even America and United Kingdom which witnessed industrial revolution several decades ago had not achieved such a feat, he claimed. Dismissing BJP’s claim of bringing fuel prices down, Sharma said the BJP government was into profiteering on the issue. “The Centre has saved Rs 52,000 crore due to the fall in crude prices in the international market.
But the benefit has not been transferred to the consumers. The fall in fuel prices is disproportionate to the fall in crude oil prices internationally. Petrol was quoting at a little over `70 per litre in Delhi when the crude oil was $110 per barrel. Now it is `66 per litre when the crude oil price is hovering around $60.”
‘Will Oppose Ordinance’, Sharma strongly opposed the Modi government for repromulgating of the land acquisition ordinance. “There is no justification whatsoever for the government to bring in an ordinance. We will continue to oppose it till amendments suggested by us are incorporated in the Bill.”
He accused the BJP and the PM of misleading people that the Land Acquisition Bill in its present format will be a deterrent to development. “There is no truth in it. There is a provision for acquiring land for infrastructure projects like building roads, bridges, reservoirs, hospitals etc.”
