Today, through the speech of the President in the parliament on the budget, the Modi government has declared its achievements, whose autopsy is necessary. A review of the enumerated achievements makes one thing clear that they are mostly immaterial and emotional and are expressions of future possibilities. There is not a single achievement which shows that there has been any improvement in the standard of living of the common man. On the contrary, inequality, malnutrition, poverty, increase in unemployment, anarchy, the terror of the majority, oppression of minorities and violation of human rights, freedom of expression and religious freedom, misuse of laws and investigation of intellectuals and people who disagree with the government, privatization Corporatization of the economic system and dictatorship have been prominently reflected. However, the speech is full of non-material achievements and claims of the Modi government, such as the world taking inspiration from India and changing the world’s view of India, etc.

Some of the achievements mentioned in the speech are reviewed below: –

1. In the speech, it is expected to show the culmination of the duties of every citizen of the country. Nowhere in the speech has there been talk of protecting the rights of the citizens and facilitating their enjoyment. This act of Modi Government is in line with BJP/RSS’s concept of Hindu Rashtra, in which citizens have only duties as per fascism, not their rights.

2. In the speech, it has been said to make such an India in which there is no poverty. It is clear from this that the government itself is accepting that there is poverty in the country. But the question arises what has Modi done to reduce poverty in the 9 years of his rule? 80 crore people standing in line for a 5 kg free ration under Pradhan Mantri Garib Food Scheme shows the level of poverty in the country.

3. It has been said in the speech that we are getting freedom from corruption. But the ground reality shows that this claim of the Modi government is hollow. Is the corruption in the purchase of Rafale hidden from anyone? Is it not Modi government’s responsibility to collect donations for its party from capitalists/corporate houses through electoral bonds? Has BJP not made a record of spending billions of rupees in elections and the purchase of MLAs?

4. It has been said in the speech that the Modi government has fulfilled the wishes of every class which has been deprived for centuries. The poor, Dalits, and backward, tribals have fulfilled their wishes and given them the courage to dream. If these claims of Modi government are tested on the ground, then these claims also prove to be hollow. The condition of the poor has been assessed above. The condition of the welfare of Dalits, backward and tribals is such that recently the Modi government has abolished pre-matriculation scholarships available to these classes. Similarly, the amount and posts of the Research Fellowship have been reduced. The fees of technical education and medical colleges have been increased manifold. Education is being privatized rapidly due to which it is certain that these classes will be deprived of education. Similarly, the privatization of medical services is also the most harmful to these classes. This class is suffering the most from unemployment.

The reality of the claim of tribal welfare is that tribal lands are being snatched away and given to corporates and they are being evicted. For opposing this, they are being killed by being called Naxalites and Maoists and are being put to death in jails. Writers, journalists, intellectuals, and human rights activists standing in their favour are being put in jail by calling them Urban Naxals. The Modi government is not showing any interest in implementing the Forest Rights Act enacted in 2006 by the UPA government to provide permanent housing and agricultural land to the tribals, while the All India Peoples Front and some other organizations approached the Supreme Court in 2019 for this. The order has also been passed.

It is clear from the above brief review that the claims of achievements made by the Modi government through the speech of the President at the budget session are false and beyond the ground reality. The next picture of this will become even more clear from the upcoming budget.

SR Darapuri, National President, All India People’s Front

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org/