The State Congress has blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “promotion of personality cult” for “disastrous economic failures” such as high unemployment, decline of GDP growth, contraction in industrial growth, and migrant crisis.
Speaking to presspersons here on Saturday, KPCC president-designate D.K. Shivakumar said the country witnessed four-decades of high unemployment and job crisis as the leadership at the Centre was suffering from “the arrogance of personality cult”.
The Modi-led government has destroyed the economy that was built over the years and the last one year has been “an insult to the nation and State,” he said. The BJP governments at the Centre and Karnataka have miserably failed to live up to the expectations of the people owing to poor leadership that had not consulted experts, economists and business leaders while taking decisions related to the economy or COVID-19. Instead of reducing petrol and diesel prices following crash in global price, the Centre increased it levying more taxes, he said.
The ₹20 lakh crore package announced by the Centre has benefited none, said Mr. Shivakumar. “Neither micro, small and medium enterprises nor small traders benefited. A large number of migrants died because of hunger,” he alleged.
Terming the lockdown as “total failure” both at the Central and State level owing to inexperienced Ministers and directionless officials, Mr. Shivakumar said the governments did not make efforts to understand the pain suffered by the people. The governments insulted migrants by denying food and shelter during the lockdown, he alleged.
Party leaders told not to comment on BJP affairs
In a strict warning to State Congress leaders, Mr. Shivakumar asked party leaders not to make any comments on internal affairs in the ruling BJP to the media. Only he and CLP leader Siddaramaiah would make comments to the media on this issue, he said.
