The Congress alleged on Wednesday that there was a "complete breakdown of governance" in the Modi government's second term, while claiming that there was an economic slowdown, an "undeclared emergency" in Kashmir and a tense situation in Assam, where over 19 lakh people were rendered "stateless".
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari alleged that in order to cover up this complete breakdown of governance, a continued "persecution" of opposition leaders was being carried out and the arrest of party leader D K Shivakumar was the latest in a series of "political vendetta".
Attacking the Centre over the shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir after Article 370 of the Constitution was abrogated there, Tewari also alleged that the region was in the "throes of an undeclared emergency" and a "volcano waiting to explode".
He also accused the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of using no other policy in Jammu and Kashmir "except for coercion, intimidation and detention" to deal with this "man-made disaster".
Tewari said the 96 days of the NDA government's second term were characterised by three words -- "tyranny, chaos and anarchy".
He hit out at the government over the economic growth rate shrinking to five per cent in the last quarter, alleging that the fundamentals of the Indian economy were being "subverted".
Unlike China, India was essentially a private economy and except for government expenditure and government investments, there was absolutely no confidence, which investors had on the Indian economy, the Congress leader said.
"And that is why the share of agriculture in our GDP has dropped to a record low of 14 per cent -- agriculture, which provides employment and sustenance to 65 per cent of India's people. The core industries of India -- the manufacturing sector -- is growing at 2.1 per cent primarily because there is no demand," he added.
"Today, the situation is such that in the heartland of India -- rural India -- people do not have a surplus of Rs 5 to buy a packet of Parle-G (biscuits). There is no disposable income which is available with people any longer," Tewari said.
He claimed that the country was witnessing a "deep-rooted" agrarian crisis, which was continuing to get worse.
Citing figures from a Labour Ministry report, the Congress leader slammed the Mudra scheme of the government as a monumental failure.
Referring to the situation in Kashmir, he claimed that for the last one month, there was a complete shutdown in the Valley.
"Jammu and Kashmir is in the throes of an undeclared emergency, where civil rights have ceased to exist. Jammu and Kashmir is a volcano which is waiting to explode and the NDA-BJP government, except for coercion, intimidation, detention, has no other policy as to how to deal with this man-made disaster, which they have created," he said.
Tewari also said there was a rising trend that anyone raising questions on the government's policies was being branded as an anti-national.
He wondered that if the government was confident about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, why opposition leaders were not allowed to visit the Valley.
"If you have done something in national interest, what is the need for taking people in detention," the Congress spokesperson said.
The reality was that the government had taken a "wrong step", which would have "negative, long-term" repercussions, he added.
Asserting that there was a complete governance failure, Tewari also raised the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and said over 19 lakh people were rendered "stateless" after the exercise.
"Irrespective of the verbal sophistry that you may put on it, the reality is that 19 lakh people after the publication of the last NRC draft have been rendered stateless," he said.
"Even after going through whatever judicial processes are left, if the number was to come down by even less than 50 per cent, does the government have a plan as regards what is it going to do with those people, who, as per the NRC process, cease to be citizens of India?," he asked.
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