On Modi govt's 1st anniversary, Cong mounts offensive

Mounting a multi-pronged attack on the Narendra Modi government on the eve of its first anniversary, the Congress today said the promised 'achche din' has come only for industrialists close to it and also accused it of weakening the democratic foundation of the country.
Leading the charge, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram slammed the Modi government for not carrying out major reforms despite adequate numbers in the Lok Sabha and gave zero marks to the issue of job creation, as he spoke of worrying signs in the economy.
Seeking to dampen the celebratory mood of the NDA government on completion of one year in office, Chidambaram suggested that the tenure so far was a missed opportunity as it failed to carry out reforms despite the BJP securing majority on its own.

"Why did you put Direct Taxes Code on the backburner? Why did you ditch the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA)? Why are you not implementing the legislative proposals of Financial Sector Legislation Reforms Commission? These are completely puzzling. These are absolutely necessary. Why have all of these been put on the backburner when you have 282 members in the Lok Sabha?", he told reporters in Delhi.
"I do not see any creation of jobs....What has one year brought in terms of jobs. In terms of jobs, I will give this government zero", he said, adding farmers in general and agriculture experts like Ashok Gulati too would give this government a zero rating.

Taking a dig at Modi government's alleged proximity to some industrialists, he said "but if you will ask a big industrialist who was promised Rs 5,000 crore from State Bank of India, he will of course give 10 out of 10".

AICC General Secretary and party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad also took a dig at Modi and BJP making promises of 'achhe din' to the people before last year's polls.
"Achhe din may have come for people like the industrialist who gets loan at the rate of 2 per cent...For those who wear Rs 10 lakh suit, achhe din have come," he said in Chandigarh.

Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh accused the prime minister of weakening the democratic foundation of the country and threatening those who are raising their voice against his government, saying it was not a 'BJP Sarkar' but 'Modi Sarkar'.
Talking to reporters in Varanasi, he termed the performance of Modi government as "an arrogant one man-show," wherein ministers don't count, and ministries don't count.
Ramesh also said Modi should learn something from former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee on style of government functioning.
In Mumbai, Congress leader Ajay maken said, "An insatiable quest for personal propaganda, event management and attractive slogans has made Modi Government as 'catch headline government' rather than 'catch investment government'."

AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh said in Indore that the NDA government has betrayed voters on the black money issue since it has totally failed to bring back this ill-gotten wealth stashed away in foreign banks abroad.
Another Congress leader Shobha Ojha said in Raipur that the Modi government lacks "economic vision", "fiscal direction" and "financial astuteness" to put India on the growth trajectory.