PM maintaining strategic silence on dalit atrocities, gau rakshaks: Cong

Taking potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the third anniversary of his government, the Congress today accused him of maintaining a "strategic silence" on a host of issues including "rising atrocities" on dalits and "violence" being perpetrated by cow vigilantes.
While the BJP has been terming the three years of Modi government as "historic", the Congress is criticising the prime minister and the BJP-led NDA dispensation on scores of issues.
"Though our prime minister talks a lot, he remains silent on the key issues like corruption in the BJP-ruled states, country's security, fleeing of big loan defaulter Vijay Mallya, illegal help extended to (ex-IPL commissioner) Lalit Modi by BJP leaders, rising atrocities against dalits, spiralling unemployment, violence by gau rakshaks etc," senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik alleged while addressing reporters.

The former Union minister was in the Madhya Pradesh capital to put forward his party's view on completion of three years of Modi government today.
"His (Modi's) silence is deafening. This is a 'strategic silence' by prime minister. He remains silent on alleged 'Vyapam' scam in Madhya Pradesh, mining scam worth Rs 45000-crore in Rajasthan, the Rs 3600 crore PDS scam in Chhattisgarh, the land scam in Gujarat involving the daughter of former chief minister Anandiben Patel, a CAG report indicting (the then) Modi regime in Gujarat among others."
He alleged the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje had helped Lalit Modi, who fled India in 2010 after facing charges of financial irregularity in IPL. "Vijay Mallya, a defaulter of Rs 9000-crore, also escaped the country," Wasnik added.

He said the prime minister should speak on issues like rising infiltration by Pakistan and China, growing incidents of attacks on Army, and on terrorism and naxalism.

Questioning the foreign policy of Modi government, he said the country's relations with neighbours like Nepal are at an "all time low".
Wasnik asked the government to present White Paper on the country's economy, saying banks recorded the lowest growth rates in the past 60 years last year.
"In contrast to Modi's promise of (creating) two crore jobs annually, only 1.35 lakh jobs were actually created in 2015. We need to generate over 34 crore jobs by 2028, but what is the status of domestic investment and bank credit?..Both are at their historic lowest," he said.

Experts are saying the information technology sector is facing joblessness and around 20,000 jobs will be lost annually while 60 per cent jobs in unorganised sectors would be reduced this year, Wasnik said.
He alleged atrocities against dalits have gone up by 38 per cent since Modi government came to office after defeating the Congress-led UPA government, whereas 12,602 farmers have committed suicide in 2015.
"Government's decision to revoke import duty on wheat only harmed the farmers' interests," he said.