 "Congress brings 'Black Paper', says Modi govt has neglected non-BJP states")
Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government announced bringing a 'White Paper' to compare the economic performance of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's 10 years, the Congress on Thursday countered it by bringing a 'Black Paper'.
Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who unveiled the party's 'Black Paper', stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi never mentioned the number of jobs created by the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) set up by former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi never mentions the number of jobs created by the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) set up by former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Whenever PM Modi speaks in Parliament, he always tries to hide his government's failures," said Kharge.
He said, "The saffron party should talk about the present as they are in power now, but they are busy talking about the past and bringing up Pandit Nehru."
He also mentioned the Centre was neglecting the states with non-BJP governments.
"We are raising the main issue of unemployment, which the BJP never talks about... There is discrimination being done with non-BJP states like Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana," said Kharge.
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"There is a danger to democracy in the country... In the last 10 years, 411 MLAs were taken on their own by the BJP. They toppled so many Congress governments. They are finishing democracy," he added.
Modi govt to bring 'White Paper'
The central government had earlier announced in the Interim Budget presented on February 1 that it would come out with a 'White Paper' to compare the economic performance of 10 years of the Congress-led UPA government with that of 10 years of the BJP-led NDA government.
Tabling the Interim Budget 2024-25 in Parliament, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Modi government, which assumed office in 2014, overcame the crisis of those years, and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path.
She announced that the government would lay a White Paper on the table of the House "to look at where we were then till 2014 and where we are now. The only purpose was to draw lessons from the mismanagement of those years".
The Budget session commenced on January 31 with President Droupadi Murmu addressing the joint sitting of the two Houses. This session, the final one before the anticipated Lok Sabha polls in April-May, was scheduled to conclude on February 9.
Opposition's take on 'White Paper'
Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said that they have no "problem" with the Centre's 'White Paper'.
"But Mehul Choksi's papers should also be brought to the House. Why are banks looted under their government? What is their relation with those who loot banks and run away abroad?" asked Chowdhury.
RJD MP Manoj Jha, on the other hand, said that "white paper will turn into a white elephant". "White paper means you can specify the number of jobs given…where have you reached? So this isn't white paper but a white elephant just before the elections," Jha added.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran said, "The finance minister took a long time to hail praise, but delivery was zero. They are going to present a white paper on the previous government… Nothing much has happened in the last 10 years."