From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, May 7: Bringing heavy artillery to demolish the blitzkrieg unleashed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the coming Karnataka assembly elections, the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh lambasted the Modi government’s four year rule and charged that the “biggest casualty of the BJP government’s policies has been lack of jobs.’’
The former Prime Minister, one of the well-known economists and the architect of the economic reforms in the country, said Modi had promised 2 crore jobs annually but has presided over a period where jobs have actually been destroyed.
“In the age group of 15-24, over 72 lakh jobs were lost over the last four years,’’ he said referring to the promise of creating 2 crore jobs per year.
In sharp contrast to the dismal scenario at the national level under the Modi government’s four-year rule, the former Prime Minister said “Karnataka’s track record is in total contrast to the Indian record on job creation.’’
“It is normal in an economy to have sluggish job growth, this usually happens when external factors are unfavourable, he said but pointed out in of the most trenchant attacks on the Modi government by stating that ``job destruction in India is due to mismanagement on the part of PM Modiji and his team.’’
While the Prime Minister and the BJP National President Amit Shah have been touring different districts during the last few days to boost the electoral prospects of the State BJP in the May 12 assembly elections, the ruling Congress party is relying mostly on the Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to counter the BJP’s well-oiled Sangh Parivar backed electoral machine. However, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who had kept herself away from electioneering in the last two years due to ill-heath, is also expected to address a few rallies this week to shore up the Congress party’s electoral prospects.
Even as Modi and Shah have been attacking the Congress for what they termed as the misrule of Congress during the last 70 years, Dr Singh came out with a clinical and factual analysis of the last 4 years of Modi rule.
“When asked to explain reasons for economic ills of the last four years, Prime Minister Modiji tends to blame everything on the 70 years of the Congress rules. He forgets the role of the Green Revolution ushered in by the Congress Government and which transformed Indian agriculture phenomenally and made the country a net exporter of food grains. He does not mention the role of policies of economic liberalization of the 1991-96 in transforming the industrial economy of India in the last 25 years,’’ he said.
Demographic dividend has become Disaster!
Dr Singh said: ``True leadership creates opportunities, it does not destroy them. If we do not fix these problems right now, we risk turning our demographic dividend into demographic disaster.’’
“Bengaluru provides us with examples of how a turnaround is possible. The entrepreneurial spirit of Bengaluru made the city a hub for information technology. In the last two years, Bengaluru has moved from 12th to first position and ranked as the most dynamic city in the world,’’ he said and pointed out that the youth need quality education and support.
“Karnataka was the first to announce a dedicated Start-Up policy, a Version 3 of Biotech Policy was announced to cater to the ever changing demands. This response to a dynamic environment is helps Bengaluru contribute $50 billion to India’s export basket. Credit for this goes to the many people who innovate daily and also the Congress government that has assisted this transformation,’’ he said.
Bengaluru was inspiration for the country
Without directly referring to Modi’s recent jibe that Bengaluru has become a “sin city’’ under Siddaramaiah rule, Dr Singh reminded the Prime Minister that ``Bengaluru is the founding capital of Indian science.’’
“Today we are in Bengaluru, which has been labelled the Most Dynamic City of the world. That is a well-deserved title for this city which is the cradle of science, IT, and innovation. All over the country, youngsters graduate and head to Bengaluru as this is the start-up capital of India,’’ he said.
Praising the Siddaramaiah government handsomely, he said: ``Bengaluru was also the inspiration for the UPA government’s farsighted focus on Urban Development. The ideas that led to the creation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) came from social entrepreneurs from Bengaluru.’’
“Development of our cities should be a priority for every government. This requires sustained efforts funds and innovation. Instead, the Modi government has been content to simply come up with catchy tags like AMRUT and Smart Cities, which have underperformed spectacularly. Thus, under the BJP government we are missing out on crucial years which require careful planning and investment to ensure that our cities remain engines of growth,’’ he said.
“Look at the contrast with the Congress government in Karnataka under Siddaramaiah. Its Tender SURE project has transformed the way urban infrastructure is constructed, while ensuring that everyone, including pedestrians benefit. Metro connectivity has improved substantially. The state government’s offer to bear 80% of the costs has helped kickstart the Suburban Rail project. In spite of massive pressures due to growth in population and vehicles, the Karnataka government has brought about a tangible change to the lives of citizens of Bengaluru,’’ he said.
Dr Singh pointed out that “Youth come to Bengaluru for its vibrant and open environment where entrepreneurship is thriving. The Siddaramaiah government’s innovative policies like ELEVATE has made Bengaluru the start-up capital of India.’’
Karnataka better than Gujarat or other States
The Siddaramaiah government’s support for industry has made Karnataka the highest in translating investment intentions into reality, more than Gujarat or any other state, he said and declared that the Congress government in Karnataka is creating jobs for our youth and the results are clearly visible.
“It is worth remembering that India is the only country in the world to have incorporated in its Constitution the principle of promoting scientific temper in the society. Reduced budgets, administrative takeovers, and harassment of students and dissenting voices are a violation of our Constitutional norms,’’ Dr Singh said and in a frontal attack against Modi said:
"It does not help that the Ministers in PM Modiji’s cabinet and even BJP Chief Ministers regularly make comments promoting irrationality. It thus comes as no surprise when irrational policies hurting people are implemented.’’
Mercilessly attacking the Modi government, Dr Singh said: ``Our nation today is experiencing difficult times. Our farmers are facing an acute crisis, our aspirational youth are not finding opportunities, and the economy is growing below its potential. The unfortunate truth is that each of these crises was entirely avoidable.’’
“It pains me to see how rather than standing up to all these challenges, the government’s response has been to stifle dissent when deficiencies are pointed out. Innovation needs support, and an environment where ideas can be discussed and debated without apprehension or inhibitions,’’ he said indirectly implying that Modi government was woefully inadequate in running the country.
Dr Singh asserted that it was necessary to remember that economic policy has a significant impact on the lives of people. It is therefore essential that those tasked with decision-making pay careful attention to policies and programmes and not act on mere whims and fancies. India is a complex and diverse country and no one person can be the repository of all wisdom.
“Every time we have sought an answer for any of the disastrous policies of the present BJP government, all we hear is that ‘the intentions’ are virtuous. The ‘intentions’ of the Modi government, while claimed to be good, have resulted in massive losses for our country. Its lack of reasoning and analysis is costing India and our collective future,’’ he said.
India’s growth under Modi has stunted
Reminding Modi that the UPA delivered an average growth rate of 7.8 percent despite turbulent global conditions, he said and pointed out that the NDA, on the other hand, has managed lesser growth rate despite a favourable international climate and low oil prices. In fact, growth rate under the NDA is lower in spite of the change in methodology, which paints a rosier picture than reality.’’
“Two major avoidable blunders of the Modi government have been demonetisation and hasty implementation of GST. The losses the economy suffered due to these blunders have severely hurt our Micro Small and Medium Enterprise sector and have resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Along with this, exports as a share of GDP have plunged to a 14 year low. This at a time when the global economy is reviving and exports of other Asian nations like Vietnam have been able to grow very substantially,’’ he said.
When we turn to the impact of the BJP government’s economic policies on the common man, another place to look is the Petroleum Sector. Petrol and diesel prices are at a historic high. This is in spite of lower international crude oil prices because the Modi Government chooses to levy excessive excise taxes. Instead of passing on the benefits of low prices to the people, the Modi government has punished the people.
During our tenure, Dr Singh, who served as Prime Minister under UPA 1 and 2, said in the face of high crude oil prices, we cushioned the common people against their effects. ``Since the present government has assumed power, the international crude oil prices have declined to 67%. However, petrol and diesel prices have on average increased at 110% on both these products,’’ he said and mentioned that through constant increase in taxes and at the cost of the common man, the BJP government is projected to have earned over Rs10 lac crore.
“India must demand answers as to what use this money was put to,’’ he bluntly asked.
Turning attention to the banking sector, Dr Singh, who had worked as the RBI Governor and also the World Bank, said a healthy economy requires a well-functioning banking sector. "Today, banks are neither lending nor is the private sector borrowing in order to make new investments. The growth engines of the economy are spluttering. Perhaps it is here that the mismanagement of the Modi government is most evident,’’ he said.
Bank NPAs trebled, fraudsters escaped
“The proportion of gross Non Performing Assets (NPAs) have trebled since we demitted office. The quantum of frauds in the banking sector has almost quadrupled from Rs 28,416 crore in September 2013 to Rs 1.11 lakh crores in September 2017. Perpetrators of these frauds meanwhile escape with impunity,’’ he said without naming diamond billionaire NiravModi or his uncle Mehul Choksi or the liquor baron Vijay Mallya, all of whom have escaped.
“The economic mismanagement of the Modi government, and I say this with great care and responsibility, is slowly eroding the trust of the general public in the banking sector. Recent events which resulted in shortage of cash in many states were preventable. But the government is not doing its job,’’ he said and mentioned: ``Instead of taking prompt corrective action, the government has been busy providing excuses and peddling conspiracy theories as to what led to the problem.’’
Meanwhile, as write-offs to corporate houses have exponentially increased, unpayable agricultural loans due to heightened rural distress are not being waived. In three years, over Rs2.41 lakh crores worth of loans have been written off by public sector banks. But, he asked : "Where is the capital necessary for the growth engines of small and medium enterprises?’’
The former Prime Minister lamented that what took years of hard work to make the Indian economy the third largest in the world is being dismantled through systematic efforts that have no grounding in logic?
“In only four years, PM Modi has reversed the successes of the UPA government, in process hurting our farmers. The aim of the present government to double farmers’ incomes by 2022 comes across as wishful thinking. Under the UPA II, the average annual MSP growth rate was 19.3%, under the NDA government; this has fallen to 3.6%. The agri-GDP growth rate under NDA government is half of that achieved under the UPA.
Agricultural exports, which had seen a five-fold increase under UPA, have since come down by 21%. At the same time, agricultural imports have risen by over 60%. It is worth seeking answers from PM Modi as to how he seeks to double the incomes when his government has failed to even match the record of UPA.
“He has no use for the achievements of UPA I & II by enacting path breaking social and economic legislation in the form of: Right to Information Act, Right to Education Act 3. Food Security Act, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Right to Fair Compensation, Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act for Farmers, Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (recognition of Forest Rights) Act and Grant of Special Status (371j) to the backward districts of Hyderabad Karnataka region,’’ Dr Singh said and pointed out that Modi forgets to mention that policies of UPA I & II led to lifting 140 million people above the poverty line during 2004-2014.
During the same period, growth of export of software services has declined nationally, touching a record low in 2015-16 at 7.3 percent. India’s position as an IT superpower is under threat. The situation could get worse if the Modi government fails in its duties at protecting H1, H4 and L1 visas for our professionals which are under threat in the United States. I urge the Prime Minister to utilise every possible channel to ensure that our professionals can continue to work in the US, which benefits both America and India.
“Let us remember that a country develops when there is sustainable growth, when people have jobs and meaningful careers, when they can fulfil their aspirations with renewed hope in a better future. Bengaluru and Karnataka have shown India the way,’’ he said, adding: ``I only wish that PM Modiji will learn and implement some of these lessons in the little time left in his tenure.’’