Not to be left behind, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has personally cleared a programme of countering the government and thrown spanners at the BJP's plans at every step of their celebrations
Even as the ruling BJP is gearing up to unleash its report card on eve of first anniversary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, the main Opposition Congress has also chalked out plans to throw spanners in the celebrations.
To mark a year in power, BJP is planning 250 rallies and every central and state minister has been asked by the party president Amit Shah to attend at least three such rallies and spend at least two days in the functions. This is besides holding fairs (melas) in Tehsil towns on May 30 and 31 and putting up exhibitions all over the country on the achievements of the government.
Not to be left behind, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has personally cleared a programme of countering the government and thrown spanners at the BJP's plans at every step of their celebrations.
According to a battery of 60 senior Congress leaders will fan out all over country for over a week to expose "the lies and betrayal" of the Modi government. "We want to register the awareness that has come to the people from all walks of life, be it farmers, middle class, jobless youths, poor or businessmen and industrialists in so short period of the Modi rule that it calls for our own way of celebrations," a senior Congress general secretary told to dna.
The party is also preparing a booklet, to be released on May 26 on the day the Modi government was sworn in to show how it has been causing immense damage to the Indian society.
The BJP's debacle in Delhi elections has particularly led change of strategy within the Congress, which had originally decided to lie low and wait for government's failures to take advantage in next Lok Sabha polls. But the aggressions shown by Congress over past few weeks has stemmed from the thought that BJP victories in the state elections was demoralising its cadres. "Even if we don't have much stakes in elections in Bihar, but we will ensure it is defeated," says the leader. The elections in this politically significant state are scheduled in September-October.
While the ruling party is already on the back foot on the issue of crop failures and its insistence on amending land acquisition law to facilitate land transfers for corporate activity, the Congress is now targeting aspirational middle class. Coinciding BJP's celebrations, the Congress will use hike in oil prices and its cascading effects to send message to middle class has always been a backbone of the BJP's fortunes.
"So what exactly is the BJP government doing and why are we paying Rs19.84 extra for a litre of petrol. The government tax collections from petrol and diesel have already gone up by close to Rs25,000 crore in 2014-15 and the government wants to perhaps collect even more in the current financial year," says party's chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjiwala.
When the UPA government demitted office on May 26, 2014, the price of the Indian crude basket was Rs6,368.64 per barrel while the retail price of petrol in the national capital was Rs71.41 per litre. That was when the price of crude was US $ 107.09 per barrel. One year later, on May 16, 2015, the price of crude at US $ 64.88 per barrel and the price of the Indian crude basket is down to Rs4141.94 per barrel. The price of petrol is down to only Rs 66.29 per litre.
"So what does this mean for the average middle class Indian who is struggling to make ends meet?," questions the Congress.
What it says:
Congress booklet gives left-handed compliments to government.
Credit for the most anti-farmer amendments to land acquisition law and ignoring severe plight of farmers hit by recent unseasonal rains
Congress also said government is arrogant in forcing its way in Parliament as out of 51 Bills, 43 were not sent to the standing committee as done since 1993 etc.
Credit for redefining democracy as "govt of some people, by one person, and for a select few" in which the smokescreen of development is for providing "achhe din" only to crony capitalism and dilute rights of workers under the pretext of "Make in India."
Credit for shattering the nation's hopes for improved security of women as th Nirbhaya Fund has been scraped, shooting down the one rape crisis centre in each of the 660 districts to just 36 in total and cutting the budget of the women and child development ministry to less than half and all this by a Prime Minister who launched "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.;"
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