1. The Economy: Why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India? Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modi’s friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?

2. Agriculture and farmers: Why is it that the agreements made with farmers while repealing the three black farm laws have not been honoured? Why has MSP not been legally guaranteed? Why didn’t farmers’ income double over the last 9 years?

3. Corruption and cronyism: Why are you putting people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit your friend Adani? Why are you letting thieves escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BJP-ruled states, and why are you letting Indians suffer?

4. China and National Security: Why is it that even after your clean chit to China in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian territory? 18 meetings have been held with China, yet why do they refuse to yield Indian territory and instead continue with their aggressive tactics?

5. Social Harmony: Why are you deliberately using the politics of hatred for electoral gains and fueling an atmosphere of fear in society?

6. Social justice: Why is it that your oppressive government is methodically destroying the foundations of social justice? Why are you silent on the atrocities against women, Dalits, SC, ST, OBCs and minorities? Why are you ignoring the demand for a caste census?

7. Democracy and federalism: Why have you weakened our Constitutional values and democratic institutions in the last nine years? Why are you practicing the politics of revenge against Opposition parties and leaders? And why are you using blatant money power to destabilise governments elected by the people?

8. Welfare schemes: Why is it that schemes for the welfare of the poor, needy and tribals are being weakened by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules?

9. COVID-19 mismanagement: Why is it that despite the tragic deaths of over 40 lakh people due to COVID-19, the Modi government has refused to compensate their families? Why did you suddenly impose a lockdown which forced lakhs of workers to return home, and not provide any support?

THE ECONOMY

Question: Why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India? Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modi’s friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?

1. The Modi government is silent on the relentless price rise which has resulted in the highest-ever prices of LPG, petrol, diesel, and daily essentials: The price of every daily essential is touching sky-high levels and wholesale inflation at its highest in 30 years. Crores of families are suffering, especially women who often manage household budgets.

   LPG	Petrol	Diesel	Mustard Oil	Atta	Milk

   2014 ₹410/cylinder ₹71/litre ₹55/litre ₹90/kg ₹22/kg ₹35/litre 2023 ₹1103/cylinder ₹95-100/litre ₹83-98/litre ₹143/kg ₹35/kg ₹53/litre % increase 169% 57% 78% 58% 56% 51%

The Modi government refuses to even discuss rising prices. The PM never mentions it, and the Finance Minister jokes about it when questioned and says the Opposition should not ask questions. They blame the Ukraine war. In truth, the price of crude oil on the world market has fallen by 30% between May 2014 to 2023 – from over $100 to $70 for a barrel. Yet, the Modi government keeps on increasing prices of LPG, petrol and diesel, which makes all other commodities expensive.

2. Unemployment crisis and stagnating wages: PM Modi has completely failed in his promise to create 2 crore jobs every year. In fact, the country is facing a severe crisis of employment today. The proportion of Indians looking for work has fallen from 53% in 2014 to 48% by Dec 2022, showing that crores of people have stopped looking for work. This was true even before the COVID-19 pandemic, which only accelerated the trend. Even amongst those looking for work, many are unable to find work, especially youth. Experts estimate that between 30-40% of youth are unemployed, and unemployment is highest in youth who hold degrees. This is a tragedy which is crippling the future of our country. Jobs are moving away from formal and high income to low income and vulnerable ones. Between 2017-18, the proportion of workers holding salaried jobs with regular wages fell by 1.5% while vulnerable and unpaid “helpers in household enterprises” grew by over 3%. At the same time, wages have stagnated. Experts using government data, estimate that between 2015- 23, wages for agricultural labour grew only by 0.9% per year, for non-agricultural labourers by 0.2% a year, and for construction workers actually reduced slightly.

3. Blunder of demonetisation: 6 years after PM Modi’s disastrous de-monetisation, the economic effects continue to haunt the country. None of the ever-changing goals of the exercise have been met. Black money remains, and there’s no evidence that demonetisation affected it. Corruption abounds as the BJP’s 40% sarkara in Karnataka showed. The country did not even be-come cashless. In fact, cash in circulation has increased between 2016 and 2022 by 71% to 30 lakh crores in 2022. As a share of the country’s GDP, cash has increased to 13.7% in March 2022 from 11.6% in March 2014. The costs of this blunder were severe. More than 1.5 million jobs were estimated to be lost in the first four months of 2017, mainly in small businesses and the informal sec-tor. Over a hundred people died. The Modi government has still not learnt the lesson - the scrapping of the Rs 2000 note is yet another painful reminder.

4. The Modi government is resorting to tax terrorism and poorly designed GST which punishes the small and middle class to shore up its revenues: While PM Modi promised to eliminate “tax terrorism”, his government has excelled in finding innovative and burdensome ways to tax Indians. By relying heavily on a poorly designed GST to make up for a corporate tax cut, the Modi government is taxing the poor, and small businesses, to subsidize large corporations. GST is a tax on consumption. The poor consume most of their income, while the rich save larger parts of their income. As a result, GST hits the poor more, just like other indirect taxes. 64% of GST is collected from the poorest 50% of Indians, and only 4% from the top 10%. As a result, the share of income going to indirect taxes is six times more for the poorest half of Indians compared to the top 10 %.

Similarly, the poorly designed GST has disproportionately hurt small and medium businesses which are the back-bone of the economy. Small businesses find it hard to understand the six slabs with many exemptions. The rules are ever changing - between 2017-22, the Modi government changed the rules once every other day, with 869 notifications, 143 circulars and 38 orders. Small businesses often have to register in multiple states at times, and have to pay higher amounts for accountants and lawyers. Similarly, the vast number of informal sector businesses are shut out of the formal economy.

The Modi government’s tax terrorist instincts were once again on display when it attempted to introduce a 20% tax collected at source on international credit cards, another unnecessary tax on the middle class.

5. Economic policies which help chosen friends at expense of small and medium enterprises: The Modi government’s policies have consistently helped its chosen large corporate friends through tax cuts, loan write-offs and favourable contracts and rules, while neglecting small and medium enterprises and the informal economy. In 2019, the Modi Government reduced the corporate tax slabs from 30 % to 22 %, with new companies paying only 15%. This resulted in a total loss of 1.84 lakh crore. In addition, over the past 7-8 years,11 lakh crores of loans made to big businessmen have been waived. The government has also announced `1.9 lakh crore in “production-linked incentives (PLI)” to large businesses. This costly scheme has been criticised by noted economist Raghuram Rajan, since it has not succeeded in boosting exports and creating jobs, and may be subsidising companies for activities which they were planning to undertake anyway.

The costs of these tax cuts, loan write offs and subsidies are borne by Indians, who have to pay higher taxes for petrol, diesel and GST. At the same time, there are hardly any schemes for small businesses that have yielded any notable result.. The government’s Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic reached only about 20% of MSMEs, while 63% had not even heard about it. It is no surprise that big corporates are flourishing while lakhs of MSMEs have shut down, and the surviving ones are drastically cutting down operations.

6. Rise in inequality, poverty, hunger and malnutrition: The Modi government’s tenure has seen an unprecedented reduction in incomes. The NSSO data which the PM suppressed shows consumer spending falling for the first time since 1973, from 1,501 in 2011-12 to1,446 in 2017-18. Experts show that the poverty levels are likely much higher than government claims, since urban poverty rose by 2 percentage points during the 2016 demonetisation, and rural poverty has stopped reducing since 2019. Falling incomes at a time of rising costs has resulted in greater hunger and malnutrition. The number of hungry Indians increased from 19 crores in 2018 to 35 crores in 2022. India’s children have the highest rate of malnutrition, measured by weight-for-height, at 19.3%, worse than in 2014 at 15.1%. While the poor are growing poorer and hungrier, the rich are growing richer. 40% of the wealth created in India from 2012-2021 went to only 1% of the population. When the country suffered through COVID-19 between 2020 and 2022, the total number of billionaires in India increased from 102 to 166 billionaires. The PM’s favour-ite and favoured businessman, Gautam Adani, saw his wealth increase 14 times between 2017 and 2022, and climbed from rank 106 to rank 2.

7. Neglect of public sector vacancies in govt jobs and reckless sale of public enterprises: The hypocrisy of PM Modi’s jobs promise is best shown by the vacancies in government positions and his reckless sale and downsizing of PSUs. As of August 2022, over 9.79 lakh posts were vacant in Central Government offices. There are many more vacancies in PSUs, CAPFs, and similar bodies. Up to thirty lakh vacancies are estimated to exist in government positions across India. Similarly, the Modi government is closing down PSUs and reducing their size.188 out of India’s 247 PSUs are profitable. PSUs have earned over 2 lakh crores while their losses have only been Rs 15,000 crores. However, the government is proceeding with reckless and disastrous sales – the LIC IPO which resulted in huge losses is only the latest example. As a result of sale and downsizing, the number of people working in PSUs between 2014 and 2022 has fallen from 13 lakh to 8 lakh. Similarly, the jobs in the railways have reduced from 18 lakh to 12 lakh. Government jobs provided a pathway to a secure life for crores, especially from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities. The Modi government has generated unemployment, and hit these communities the hardest.

8. Collapse of private investment, manufacturing and agriculture: Private investment is a key driver of the economy. Private investment has fall-en from the highs of over 25% of GDP in the second half of UPA-2 to 19.6% of GDP in 2021. Such a low level of private investment has not been since 1999. This is a sign that enterprises and investors are concerned about the weaknesses of the Indian economy, despite PM Modi’s hype, and is a significant brake on economic growth. Similarly, for all of the PM’s publicity on “Make in India”, the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP has fallen from 15.6% in 2015 to 13.7% - an astonishing low not seen since 1960. Experts are raising concerns over “premature deindustrialization”, which seriously impedes economic growth. Similarly, the agricultural crisis is well known, with farmers struggling with rising costs, uncertain prices and increasing variability of weather. With investment, manufacturing, and agriculture all slowing down, and consumption hit by inflation, every driver of economic growth has been damaged by the Modi government’s failed economic policies.

9. Over-reliance on failed jumlas and faked data: PM Modi’s over-hyped economic slogans have all proven to be empty and fade away. “Achhe Din”, “Make in India”, “2 Crore Jobs Every Year”, “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, “SabkaSath, Sabka Vikas”, “Skill India”, “Make in India” – the list is endless.

To hide data on their shortcomings, the Modi government has hidden all data. The NSSO which provided poverty numbers has been discontinued. The Census, which has never been stopped in 150 years even during World Wars, has been delayed for over 2 years citing COVID-19. The government says it has no data on no data on MSMEs shut down due to demonetisation, no data on the number of COVID”19 deaths in the second wave, and no data on the number of migrants affected due to the lockdown. All independent data sources are discredited. The Modi government has truly become NDA – No Data Available!

AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS

Question: Why is it that the agreements made with farmers while repealing the three black farm laws have not been honoured? Why has MSP not been legally guaranteed? Why didn’t farmers’ income double over the last 9 years?

1. Introduction of three black farm laws and violence to farmers: The three black farm laws were introduced by the Modi government in 2020, with limited consultation with farmers and without debate in Parliament. These laws favoured large corporates by allowing unrestricted trade and undermined farmers’ bargaining power by weakening mandis. It was a recipe for exploitation and lower income for farmers, and they bitterly opposed it.

Rather than listening to farmers, the Modi government met them with water cannons, teargas shells, barbed wire and barricades. They had to protest outside Delhi for more than 300 days in the bitter cold, sweltering heat and face brutal violence by the State. Over 700 farmers died during the protest. The government’s cruelty was best shown by the violence against peaceful farmers at LakhmipurKheri, where Union Minister Ajay MisraTeni’s son mowed down farmers with his car.

2. Promises made to farmers dishonoured, especially Minimum Support Price (MSP): A year and a half after the government made promises to the farmers to end their protest, it has not progressed towards fulfilling its promises. The Government had promised the farmers legally guaranteed MSP for all crops, using the C2+50% formula which gave a margin over cost of capital and rent on land; assured procurement; loan waivers; and reduction in input prices including those of fertilisers. None have been honoured, leaving farmers vulnerable to high costs and low crop prices.

3. The lie of doubling farmers income by 2022: With slow agricultural growth of 3.5% in the Modi period of 2014-15 to 2022-23, the dream of making higher income from agriculture seems like a distant reality. The government’s own surveys show that the average income of a farmer from growing crops is only `27 per day. The Modi government has actually contributed to the rising input costs faced by farmers by imposing for the first time GST on several key agricultural inputs, shown below.

Agricultural Items Tax Rate Agricultural Equipment 12% Tyres and other parts for tractors, machines for processing and milling cereals or vegetables 18% Fertilizers 5% Pesticides 18%

4. Insufficient crop insurance under PM Modi’s, Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana (PMFBY): The much-hyped PMFBY crop insurance scheme has proven to be unfriendly to farmers and poorly designed. The scheme does not help farmers against losses, since premiums are very high, and they have to wait for many months for compensation which is usually only a fraction of the lost crop value. The main beneficiaries have been private insurance companies who have earned a profit of `34,929 crore from 2017-18 to kharif 2021-22. As a result, coverage has been declining. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture highlighted that area insured under PMFBY has declined from 29% of sown area to 25% from 2016-17 to 2019-20. Even the BJP government in Gujarat had suspended its participation in PMFBY.

5. Reduction in farm subsidies: The government has reduced subsidies on fertilizers, power, and irrigation, which have increased costs for farmers, making farming economically unviable for many. For example, the fertiliser subsidy was reduced by nearly 25% - from a revised estimate of 2.25 lakh crores in 2022-23 to a budget allocation of1.75 lakh crores in 2023-24. Similarly, the Market Intervention Scheme and Price Support Scheme was intended to help farmers when crop prices were low. Although it got 1,500 crore in the last Budget, nothing was spent. It was practically discontinued in the 2023 Budget with an allocation of just1 lakh.

6. Reducing agriculture’s share in the Union Budget: The Modi Government has been continuously reducing the share of agriculture from the Union Budget. The agricultural sector allocation decreased by over 8,000 crore - from1.33 lakh crore in the 2022–23 to `1.25 lakh crore in 2023–24. As a share of the budget, the spending on agriculture reduced from 3.4% to 2.8%. This shows that the Modi government has de-prioritized agriculture, even though it is currently in crisis.

7. Failure to address farmer suicides: Modi government has not taken sufficient measures to address the underlying causes of farmer suicides, such as debt burdens, crop failures, and lack of social support systems. The debt burden on farmers has grown from 9.6 lakh crore in 2014 to23.44 lakh crore in 2021-22. As a result, according to National Crime Records Bureau, some 10,881 farmers and agricultural labourers died by suicide in 2021, a 6% increase since 2019. This amounts to one farmer or agricultural labourer dying by suicide every hours in 2021.

8. Inadequate irrigation and water management: In its 2014 election manifesto, the Bharatiya Janata Party promised to “increase irrigated land by completing the long pending irrigation projects on priority”. According to a 2019 Telegraph report, out of the 99 projects, 74 are still waiting for the construction of field canals and command area development.

9. The falsehood of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi: The Union government under PM Modi often makes claims that PM Kisan Samman Nidhi has benefitted crores of farmers, however, in budget 2023 allocation towards this scheme declined from 66,825 crores for 2021- 22 to60,000 crores. Activists have raised serious questions about the number of farmers actually benefiting, which are yet to be satisfactorily answered.

CORRUPTION AND CRONYISM

Question: Why are you putting people’s hard earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit your friend Adani? Why are you letting thieves escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BJP-ruled States, and why are you letting Indians suffer?

1. Exploitation of Life Insurance Corporation of India: The Adani MegaScam and the crash in Adani stocks led to losses to the tune of `2 lakh crores for LIC, its shareholders and ultimately risked the savings of its 30 crore policyholders. Who forced this pillar of India’s financial system to take such a risky exposure to Adani that even private fund managers, who are known to take risky bets, had chosen to avoid? Did these risky bets play any role in the fall of the share value of LIC that has underperformed the Nifty 50 index by more than 30%? Did you pressurise LIC to bail out your close friend Adani? Why are you silent on the questions raised by Rahul Gandhi on Adani in Parliament?

2. Lunch banking with State Bank of India: You have accused previous governments of “phone banking” but what about your own innovation of “lunch banking”? In 2014, SBI agreed to sign an MoU to lend the Adani Group $1 billion after a lunch meeting in Brisbane, Australia, at which Gautam Adani, SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya and you were present. This became necessary because Australian banks had refused to fund Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Australia over environmental concerns. Is the most-trusted public sector bank in India simply a vehicle for you to enrich your cronies?

3. Price rise due to corruption: The Adani group won six out of six airports – Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangalore, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram – that were privatised in 2019, and also took control of Mumbai airport with the help of ED and CBI raids on the previous owner. As a result, user development fees that every passenger has to pay in their tickets is going up 5-6 fold in many airports, e.g. from 192 to Rs. 1,025 in Lucknow airport. Adani has also refused to sell cheap electricity to Haryana as it was required to by its original power purchase agreement, and got the BJP government in Haryana to somehow agree to higher prices that will be paid by Haryana’s consumers. In Jharkhand the Adani group made the then BJP government change the terms of its thermal power plant that, according to Jharkhand government calculations, will cost Jharkhand consumers7,410 crore over 25 years. Is the enrichment of your friends more important than the welfare of Indian citizens?

4. Wilful defaulters and thieves allowed to escape: Why is it that wilful defaulters with close personal links to PM Modi were allowed to escape India? Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi scammed about 13,000 crore from public sector banks while Vijay Mallya ran away with9,000 crore. The top 50 bank defaulters in India accounted for loans worth 68,607 crore being written off in the banking system until September 2019. Modi-ji’s friend Mehulbhai’s Gitanjali Gems tops the list of the defaulters with a whopping amount of5,492 crore being written off.

5. PM CARES scams: The PM CARES fund reportedly collected more than 10,000 crore in relief funds from various ministries, celebrities, business leaders and citizens. However, according to the official website, the Fund has only spent3,100 crore on ventilators, aid for migrant workers, and vaccine development. Curiously, the government has insisted that the Right to Information Act does not apply to the Fund since it isn’t a public authority, even though it uses the national emblem and is dependent on government infrastructure. Is this because of scams such as the purchase of 5,000 ventilators from Jyoti CNC that was accused of supplying mechanised ambu bags instead of ventilators to Ahmedabad’s largest COVID-19 hospital? One of the business families associated with Jyoti CNC, KARP Group’s RameshbhaiBhikhabhai Virani, gifted PM Modi an expensive suit costing `10 lakh with his name monogrammed all over it. Is this how the trust of thousands of donors to the PM CARES funds is to be returned?

6. Silence on corruption in BJP-ruled states: Numerous scams by BJP leaders in BJP-ruled states have gone unchecked despite PM Modi proclaiming “Na khaoonga, nakhanedoonga”. Most recently, the BJP ran a 40% Commission Sarkarain Karnataka, where the PM remained silent even after multiple letters were written to him by the Contractors’ Association, and two associations of private schools. The Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh involving senior BJP leaders, the Haryana liquor scam, and many others also show the corruption in the BJP. Is there after all truth in what former Governor Satyapal Malik said in an interview, that the Prime Minister is not bothered by corruption?

7. BJP washing machine at work: A `16,000 crore mining scam by the Bellary brothers of Karnataka was washed clean after they re-joined BJP. The whitewashing of HimantaBiswaSarma, an accused in the Saradha chit scam, was made the CM after he joined BJP. Suvendu Adhikari from West Bengal, an accused in the Narada sting who went on to join the BJP. Narayan Rane was accused of a money-laundering racket was made a Union Minister. Home Minister Amit Shah accused the NPP-led government in Meghalaya of being the most corrupt government in India, and BJP joined the government post elections. All of these show that corruption by BJP leaders has been protected by the Modi government.

8. Electoral bonds used to favour the ruling party: Electoral Bonds - which were vehemently opposed by all political parties and unconstitutionally passed as a Money Bill without discussion in Parliament - allow corporations to make large do-nations to political parties completely anonymously, thus giving them significant leverage for undue favour by parties in power. It is no surprise that the suit-boot BJP is the primary recipient of these donations. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the BJP received 57% of the 9,191 crore in electoral bonds between March 2018 and January 2023 for which audit reports are available (the total bonds redeemed was Rs. 11,985 crore). In 2018-19, the year of the general election, the BJP received 74% of the3,441 crore given in electoral bonds. An unholy cocktail of coercion and purported quid pro quo favours needed to achieve this can only be described as corruption.

CHINA AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Question: Why is it that even after your clean chit to China in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian Territory? 18 meetings have been held with China, yet why do they refuse to yield Indian Territory and instead continue with their aggressive tactics?

1. BJP’s silence on China: PM Modi’s public “clean chit” to China on 19 June 2020 immeasurably weakened India’s negotiating position and the country is paying a heavy price for it. The Modi government has already ceded territory in Galwan, Pangong Tso, Gogra Post and Hot Springs by agreeing to buffer zones inside Indian territory in return for a Chinese withdrawal. Access to the strategic Depsang Plains, an area of 1,000 sq km, has been denied to Indian patrols for more than three years now, with no signs of a return to the status quo. Furthermore China was emboldened to attempt to capture territory in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, but was foiled in its designs by our vigilant and proactive forces. Now it is reported that, far from withdrawing, the Chinese are demanding a “buffer zone” 15-20 km further inside Indian territory in Depsang. This after having already intruded 18 km past our rightful border. Yet the PM is afraid to take the name of China. When will the PM end his silence on China?

2. Pulwama lapses: Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed on 14 February 2019 in a terrorist attack on their convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. For 10-12 days a car loaded with RDX freely roamed the streets of Kashmir without alerting authorities, hunting for its target. Former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik alleged that the modi government had rejected a CRPF request for aircraft, forcing the jawans to travel by road in a vulnerable manner. When he acknowledged the failure, PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval asked him to remain quiet and to not allow the government to be made accountable for any security lapses or intelligence failures.

3. Absence of a national security strategy: In nine years the Modi government has failed to produce a National Security Strategy that lays out how India will achieve its security objectives using various instruments of national power, be they military, diplomatic or economic. In 2019 the Congress Party drafted a National Security Strategy authored by Lt Gen (Retd) DS Hooda. But on 29 December 2022 former Chief of Army Staff MM Naravane lamented that the Modi government was pursuing defence reforms in the absence of an overall strategy. This is a clear failure of a lack vision.

4. Illegal use of Pegasus spyware: Israeli Pegasus spyware was illegally used to target politicians, 40 Indian journalists, academicians and civil society activists in India. It was reported that the Modi government bought Pegasus as part of a $2 billion arms deal with Israel in 2017. Using a foreign-owned and operated spyware could have exposed Indian secrets to foreign agencies. Using this taxpayer-funded spyware against political opponents, apart from being illegal, is a complete violation of the norms of Indian democracy. The Modi government refused to cooperate with the Supreme Court-monitored committee that investigated the allegations, and the report has not been released to the public.

5. Northeast in flames: At a time when China is threatening our borders the Modi government has permitted tensions in the north-east to rise. Assam-Mizoram tensions escalated on 26 July 2021 after clashes erupted between their respective police forces, leaving seven dead and 60 people injured. Six of those killed were policemen from Assam. In Manipur, over 40,000 people have been displaced and around 2,000 homes damaged. At least 75 people lost their lives and hundreds injured in terrible violence that has spread across multiple districts in Manipur since 3 May 2023. This is the result of BJP’s “double engine” governments.

6. BJP’s disturbing links with terrorism: The Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Talib Hussain Shah, who had been captured in Jammu and Kashmir by the local residents, was a BJP office-bearer in the state. Former BJP leader Tariq Ahmad Mir was arrested in 2020 for procuring weapons for Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu. In 2017, Assam BJP leader Niranjan Hojai was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was found to be involved in a scam worth Rs. 1,000 crore in which funds were diverted to support a militant group.

7. Inadequate defence budget: The defence budget, including pensions of 25-30 lakh veterans, has fallen to below two per cent of GDP for the first time in decades. This is being done as threats from China and Pakistan loom on our borders.

8. Agnipath scheme: The poorly-conceived Agnipath scheme will weaken our national security, damage unit cohesion and create a skew in the representation of all communities in our most important national institution, the Indian Armed Forces. It will recruit fewer youth for service in the armed forces, give them less training than before and will release a large number of military personnel into an uncertain job market every year, which could affect social stability.

SOCIAL HARMONY

Question: Why are you deliberately using the politics of hate and violence for electoral gains and fuelling an atmosphere of fear in the society.

1. Deliberate targeting of religious minorities: The Modi government and the ruling BJP have systematically targeted religious minorities. The unconstitutional Citizenship Amendment Act had the sinister purpose of differentiating Indian citizenship on religious grounds. Campaigns are whipped up on fictitious issues to polarise voters on religious lines, as we saw recently in Karnataka, which are irrelevant to daily lives of Indians but serve the ruling party’s electoral interests. A BJP factory of hate and propaganda has been established on WhatsApp and other social media. It is meant to create an atmosphere of insecurity in the country and help the BJP win votes from voters fearful of imaginary or exaggerated threats.

2. Encouraging hate speech and hate crimes: The Modi government has openly encouraged hate speech and hate crimes, contributing to the spread of divisive sentiment and the erosion of national integration. Data shows that cases under Section 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity on the ground of religion, race, and place of birth) have increased by six times in 2020 compared to 2014. Between 2009 and 2019, 91% of recorded hate crimes occurred only after the Modi government came to power in 2014. No action is taken on high-profile incidents such as Union Ministers saying “golimaaro” about peaceful protestors, BJP leaders threatening and initiating riots in Delhi, BJP government in Gujrat releasing BilkisBano’s rapists and BJP leaders sharing the stage with them, and ostensibly religions gatherings in different parts of the country where hatred and calls for violence are openly propagated.

3. Targeting and neglecting states of India for electoral gains: When the BJP perceives electoral gains, they do not hesitate to malign entire states. The Home Minister implied that Kerala was a threat during his election campaign in Karnataka, while the Prime Minister promoted a film that defamed Kerala via malicious exaggeration. Having come to power promising peace in Manipur, the BJP has completely neglected the state. PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah chose to continue campaigning in Karnataka even as violence raged in Manipur, showing their contempt for the urgent needs of the Northeast. In Kashmir, the Modi government’s missteps have antagonised residents of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Recall that Kashmiri minorities were forced to flee the valley during the BJP-supported National Front government in 1990, but that has not prevented the BJP from politicising their plight for electoral gain. The irony is that the UPA implemented a major housing and rehabilitation package for displaced Kashmiri Hindus in 2008, which the BJP’s heartlessness has led to the first killings of Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs since the 1990s under the Modi government.

4. The Prime Minister never calls for peace: In times of social unrest, it is crucial for leaders to play a unifying role by promoting dialogue, understanding, and reconciliation. However, the Prime Minister has completely failed to do so. Despite his continuous stream of activity and statements, he never calls for peace and harmony in India – not when peaceful protestors are attacked, not when riots happen in Delhi, and not when Manipur burns. This is perhaps unsurprising for a leader who came to prominence during riots in his own state of Gujarat, a singular failure of administration that he has yet to answer for.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Question: Why is it that your oppressive government is methodically destroying the foundations of social justice? Why are you silent on the atrocities against Women, Dalits, SC, ST, OBC and Minorities? Why are you ignoring the demand for a caste census?

1. Rising atrocities against Dalits: Under the Modi government, the number of atrocities against Scheduled Castes has increased from 39,327 in 2013 to 50,900 in 2021 according to the National Crime Record Bureau. This is a 23% increase, from 19.6 to 25.3 per lakh SC population. The biggest increases in the rate of atrocities have occurred in the large BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

2. Failure to hold a Caste Census to enumerate OBCs: OBC reservations need to be rationalised with empirical data to ensure proportional representation. The national census enumerates the population of SCs and STs but there is no official data about OBCs. The UPA carried out the Socio Economic and Caste Census but its data has been suppressed, and the Modi government refuses to commit to a new Caste Census.

3. Exclusion of SC, ST and OBC in the EWS quota: The reservation quota for Economically Weaker Sections excludes SC, ST and OBC category individuals even though EWS is an economic rather than a caste-based reservation. The poor of all communities are economically weak and therefore deserving of EWS quotas.

4. Attack on reservations through reckless privatisation of PSUs: The Modi government has launched an attack on SC, ST and OBC reservations by recklessly privatising PSUs. The number of people working in PSUs has fallen from more than 13 lakh in 2014 to only eight lakh today. This means that 2.5 lakh jobs reserved for these disadvantaged groups have been eliminated. Similarly, 18 lakh people were employed in Railways in 2014 but the number has reduced drastically to 11.8 lakh people today. The privatisation of health and education is further reducing job opportunities for people from SC, ST and OBC communities..

5. Erosion of Adivasi rights: The 2006 Forest Rights Act was a historic legislation that conferred land and livelihood rights – both individual and community – to Adivasi, Dalit, and other families living in forest areas of the country. During the UPA period the Union government was required to verify the consent of the forest dwellers and ensure recognition of their rights over the forest before private projects could be approved. Under the Modi government’s Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022, the forest land can be handed over even before the state government gets the consent of the forest dwellers. This has completely undermined the rights of forest-dwelling communities and is aimed at enriching the BJP’s cronies.

6. War on minority education: While claiming to support the education of religious minorities, the Modi government has slashed funding for education and scholarships for 20% of the population. On 25 November 2022, the government discontinued, in part, the pre-matric scholarships for minorities for classes 1 to 8. The government had stopped the 18-year-old padhopardesh (study abroad) program that provided an interest subsidy on education loans for students from minority communities studying abroad.

7. Violence against women: Women’s safety continues to deteriorate nationwide. Crimes against women have gone up from 3.1 lakh in 2013 to 4.3 lakh in 2021, which is a 20% increase in the rate of crime after controlling for population growth. Recently, there was a 15% increase in crimes against women in only one year, from 2020 to 2021. This violence prevents women from fully participating in public life, in economic activities and from fulfilling their potential. The BJP’s anti-women attitude exacerbates this problem. According to the Association for Democratic Reform, 21 BJP MPs and MLAs have cases of crimes against women lodged against them, the highest number of cases from a single political party. Whether it is Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the BJP MLA implicated in the Unnao rape case or the Modi government’s approval of the early release of the BilkisBano rapists and murderers, or the cover up of the Hathras rape case, the BJP seems to stands for rapists against the victims. Most recently, it has chosen to back its MP Brij Bhushan Singh despite serious accusations by India’s Olympic medal-winning wrestlers of sexual harassment by him of athletes, forcing them to launch a months-long protest at Jantar Mantar. The hypocrisy of Modi government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign has been exposed and now the people are saying, BJP se Beti Bachao.

8. Low public procurement from SC- and ST-owned businesses: The UPA had introduced reservation in public procurement from MSME’s owned by SCs and STs. But implementation by the Modi government has been lackadaisical, and not even 1% of the MSMEs from which goods and services are produced belong to SCs and STs.

DEMOCRACY AND FEDERALISM

Question: Why have you weakened our constitutional values and democratic institutions in the last nine years? Why are you practicing the politics of revenge against opposition parties and leaders? And why are you using blatant money power to destabilise governments elected by the people?

1. Undermining elected governments with money power: Opposition-led state governments in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Manipur fell after the BJP used blatant money power and threats of investigation to induce MLAs to switch sides. By the time the courts rule on their illegality, as occurred in Maharashtra, it becomes too late to go back to the status quo, cementing these illegal actions.

2. Misuse of investigative agencies: Between 2004 and 2014, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) took action against 26 politicians, of whom 54% were in the then Opposition. After 2014 the ED took action against 121 politicians of whom 95% are in the Opposition. The story with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is no different. Between 2004 and 2014, the CBI investigated 72 politicians of whom 60% were in the opposition. After 2014, the number rose to 124 of whom 95% were in the Opposition. Very clearly, the investigative agencies have been reduced to tools of political intimidation rather than genuine investigation. Under Modi and Shah, the BJP lures politicians using money power and the promise of freedom from investigation, the infamous BJP Washing Machine.

3. Abuse of sedition law: Until the Supreme Court placed the colonial-era sedition law on hold in 2022, the BJP had been freely misusing the law to silence legitimate criticism. According to the publication Article 14, 96% of sedition cases filed against 405 Indians for criticising politicians and governments over the last decade were registered after 2014, with 149 accused of making “critical” and/or “derogatory” remarks against PM Modi and 144 against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Using sedition to quell free speech can only be described as anti-national.

4. Dysfunctional Parliament: The 16th Lok Sabha (2014-19) had the lowest sitting ever of 331 days. The 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24) will likely beat this dubious record with even fewer sitting days. The expenditure of five ministries, listed for discussion in the Lok Sabha, was not discussed. The proposed expenditure of all ministries, amounting to `42 lakh crore, was passed without any discussion. In the period of the Modi government on average, 79 percent of the budget has been passed without discussion.

5. India becomes an electoral autocracy: The inability of the once proudly independent Election Commission of India to act against blatant violations of electoral law by the ruling party is just one sign of democratic backsliding under the Modi Sarkar. V-Dem now describes India as an “electoral autocracy” because of the curtailment of rights of the press, academia and civil society organisations since 2014. Freedom House ranks India as “partly free” because of the curtailment of citizens’ rights, intimidation of academia and the cancellation of FCRA licences of more than 20,000 NGOs.

6. Federalism weakened by the Modi government: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) involved India’s states giving up a modicum of fiscal autonomy in return for promises of compensation from the Centre. Yet the Modi government held back compensation when the states needed it most during COVID”19, forcing them to borrow from the market and increase their indebtedness. The government has increasingly resorted to cesses rather than taxes since cess revenues do not need to be shared with the states, thereby rendering the slogan of “cooperative federalism” hollow. Apart from delaying GST compensation, the Modi government has also attempted to take control of land registration which is a valuable source of revenue for many large states.

WELFARE SCHEMES

Question: Why is it that schemes for the welfare of the poor, needy, and tribals are being weakened by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules?

1. MGNREGA is being deliberately weakened, hurting 15 crore households: PM Modi has never believed in MGNREGA, and vilified it on the floor of Parliament. However, he was forced to recognize its importance during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was the principal source of earning for rural workers. However, since then, the budget has been reduced to Rs. 60,000 crore, the lowest in five years. Accounting for backlogs, this is only enough to provide 60 days of work to the 15 crore households who benefit from MGNREGA. In addition, rules are being changed to weaken MGNREGA. Workers must mark their attendance in a new smart-phone based app at a specific time. This is causing chaos, since workers are often not tech savvy, internet is unreliable in rural areas, or the server might be down. In addition, workers will now only get paid if they are enrolled in the “Aadhaar enabled payment system”, even though 57% of workers do not use it. These complex rules are causing workers to lose wages despite their hard work.

2. The Ujjwala scheme has limited benefits due to highest ever prices of LPG: The price of a gas cylinder has increased from 410 during UPA years to1103 today, an increase of over 2 and a half times. The cost of a domestic LPG cylinder has increased by 90% since May 2020.

In 2021, nearly 90 lakh households could not afford even one refill, while 1 crore households could afford only one refill. Therefore, it is no surprise that many rural households do not benefit. Government data shows that despite having gas connections, about 47% of rural households still depend on wood and dung cakes.

3. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao only for advertisement, while Nirbhaya funds remain unspent: The government spent a whopping 80% of funds under its flagship Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme on media campaigns, found the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women.

`9,177 crore worth of projects had been approved under the Nirbhaya fund from 2014 and 2021. Per the government’s own data, only 49% of this has been released and 34% was spent. This shows that PM Modi’s interest in women’s rights is only in publicity, not in substance.

4. Nutrition for children is neglected even as food costs rise: To ensure that every child gets the nutrition they need, the government runs anganwadi centres, and provides meals to these and to schools. However, PM Modi does not understand or care about child nutrition, as Indians learnt in 2012 when he attributed malnutrition in Gujarat to vegetarianism and beauty-conscious girls. This also shows in his government’s priorities: despite ever-rising costs of food and fuel, budgets to mid-day meals in schools were reduced by 10% in 2023, and the budget for Anganwadis remains lower in 2023 than it was in 2018.

5. Health schemes lack vision and funding: The Modi government’s piecemeal health schemes have fallen far short of meeting people’s needs for accessible and affordable health care. The Ayushman Bharat scheme is limited – it covers less than 30% of hospital charges, covers medicines only 15 days after discharge, and removes benefits of other schemes. Thus, it is not surprising that despite distributing 12.5 crore cards between 2018-21, only 1.23 crore people availed benefits. Even during COVID, RTI queries show that only 12% of admitted patients were treated for free under Ayushman Bharat. At the same time, the share of the Budget allocated to health has declined from 2.5% in 2019-20 to 2.1% in 2023-2024.

6. Scholarships for Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and minorities have been stopped: From 2023, the Modi Government has stopped pre-matric scholarship program for students from classes 1 to 8 belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and minority communities. Similarly, the Maulana Azad National Fellowship Scheme which provided scholarships for students from minority communities to pursue MPhil or PhD has been scrapped.

7. Pensions for the elderly, widows and people with disabilities remain inadequate: Throughout its term, the Modi government has refused to increase the amount of pension distributed, retaining it at Rs. 200 per month for the elderly and Rs. 300 per month for widows and persons with disabilities. As a result, these schemes have reduced by more than half as a share of the budget – from 0.6% in 2014 to 0.3% in 2023.

8. Successes of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan are exaggerated, and hide true challenges: Despite PM Modi repeatedly claiming that India is 100% open defecation free, it is clear to every Indian that this is not true. A report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF shows that at least 15% per cent of the total population in India defecates in the open. In addition, a CAG report shows that many toilets constructed under the mission could not be used because of lack of household water connection.

COVID-19 MISMANAGEMENT

Question: Why is it that despite the tragic deaths of over 40 lakh people due to Covid-19, the Modi Government has refused to compensate their families? Why did you suddenly impose a lockdown which forced lakhs of workers to return home, and not provide any support?

The Modi government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been careless, insensitive, mismanaged, and dishonest. Their failures directly contributed to nearly half a crore Indians dying, the highest in the world per the World Health Organization.

1. Modi Govt. failed to heed warnings on the serious threat posed by COVID-19: Despite warnings from Rahul Gandhi, the Modi government failed to acknowledge COVID-19 as a health emergency in early 2020. Even when it responded, the PM and his Ministers, rather than telling Indians how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, spoke about irrelevant measures like banging thalis. After the first wave ended, the PM prematurely declared victory and relaxed measures before the deadly second wave.

2. The sudden lockdown with 4 hours notice hurt 4 crore migrant workers: The Modi Government announced a nationwide lockdown with only four hours notice which suddenly halted economic activity, triggered a terrible humanitarian crisis and disrupted the livelihood of 4 crore migrant workers. For weeks they walked with their families back to their homes, without any regular supply of food and water. They were left completely stranded by the BJP government. Many migrant workers and their family members died during this period. It has been considered the largest displacement of workers and families in India since Partition.

3. The failure to strengthen health system led to lakhs of avoidable deaths in the 2nd wave: After the first wave, experts and the experience of other countries made it clear that a second wave may occur at any time. However, the Modi government was too busy celebrating to prepare our health system properly. When the second wave hit, there was a severe shortage of doctors and nurses, hospital beds, and supplies like oxygen cylinders and medicines. There were numerous protests by doctors, nurses and other frontline workers against the lack of resources. Every day, people struggled to find hospital beds and oxygen, especially in cities.

4. Government mismanaged vaccine supplies to states, and to friendly foreign countries: The Modi govt. completely botched the vaccine strategy, at first they exported vaccines through the opaque Vaccine Maitri scheme and forced states to try to secure vaccines from the market amidst a global scramble. And when the second wave arrived, we were forced to suspend exports, affecting several countries depending on India’s assurances and reducing our international reputation, especially amongst developing countries.

5. The Government deliberately hid COVID data: The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports 47 lakh Covid-19 deaths in India, the highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the world. However the Modi Government claims only 5.3 lakh deaths. The government made every attempt to suppress true data and reporting. This was worse in BJP-ruled states – for example, in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, even as desperate families resorted to disposing of bodies in the Ganga, the govt. says only 23,700 people have died of COVID-19. There are nearly a lakh villages in U.P., meaning only one person lost their life in every four villages! – any Indian can see that this data is fabricated.

The Modi government’s fudging of data insults those who suffered and served bravely at the cost of their lives. The Health Ministry says nobody died due to oxygen shortage. The government also says it has no data on how many migrant workers died, how many healthcare workers died, or how many police personnel died during the COVID-19 pandemic.

6. Government Prioritised Election Rallies and Mass Gatherings over COVID-19 safety: The government allowed large political rallies, religious gatherings, and election campaigns to take place during the second wave of the pandemic. For example, when lakhs of cases a day were being reported, BJP leaders were busy with election campaigns in West Bengal. The Prime Minister, Home Minister and 109 other leaders held massive rallies with crowds who did not wear masks or practice social distancing.

7. PM Modi set up PM-CARES, but refuses to tell people how he spent their donations: PM Modi set up a new “PM-CARES” fund and personally appealed to the public, who reportedly donated Rs. 10,000 crores. His government also forced public institutions like PSUs, Govt-run firms, educational institutions and even the armed forced to contribute to the fund. The official website for PMCARES says only Rs. 3,100 crore has been spent on ventilators, aid for migrant workers, and vaccine development. Some ventilators procured through the Fund were even found to be defective. What happened to the rest of the money? The Modi Govt. insists that PM-CARES is a private fund, despite being headed by the PM and having Union Ministers as trustees. They use this as a convenient excuse to hide how they spent public money and refuse to answer RTI requests and avoid public audits by the CAG.

8. Flawed vaccination strategy: The government wasted precious months with a deeply flawed “smart vaccination plan” to control the pandemic without vaccinating the entire population. Despite a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommending in November 2020 that universal vaccination was critical, the Modi government did not plan for this until late April 2021. The Modi government, therefore, did not place enough orders for vaccines before the second wave. In addition, PM Modi made India the only country in the world to require state governments to procure vaccines, which were also priced at 3-4 times the cost to the Center. The Modi government wasted another two and a half months before listening to the outcry from public and experts, and reversing this policy.

9. Mismanagement worsened the economic crisis in the Country: Due to the mismanagement by the government, 4 crore migrant workers were pushed to further poverty in the country. Daily wage earners, labourers, small shopkeepers and other informal sectors faced a severe crisis during the pandemic. According to Consumer Pyramids Household Survey data 2021, rural poverty increased by 9.3% points and urban poverty by over 11.7% points from December 2019 to December 2020. India also faced the largest drop in GDP growth rate in the world — -21.4% in April-June Quarter 2020 — a disaster our economy is still trying to recover from.