NEW DELHI, CORRESPONDENT

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that his position in building a new, self-reliant India is unshakeable and that Maharashtra's development has received a revolutionary new direction during his twelve-year tenure. The Chief Minister congratulated PM Narendra Modi on behalf of Maharashtra for achieving the historic milestone of serving 4,399 consecutive days as the elected Prime Minister of the country—the longest tenure to date.

The Chief Minister was speaking during a media interaction at Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi today. Emphasizing that PM Modi's 4,399 days in office are not just numbers on a calendar but a significant era of India's holistic development, the Chief Minister said that during this period, monumental work was done to lift crores of citizens out of poverty. An unprecedented network of roads, railways, ports, airports, expressways, and modern infrastructure has been built across the country. India has made a giant leap in the economic sector, securing its place among the world's leading economies. To benefit farmers, irrigation projects were fast-tracked, and record investments were made in water conservation and agricultural development.

The concept of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-Reliant India) is visibly turning into reality across the country today. In the defense sector, India has marched toward self-reliance and proven its capabilities to the world. India, which was once a major importer of weapons, has now become a country exporting defense equipment worth thousands of crores of rupees. Through UPI and digital payment systems, India has set a global benchmark for the digital revolution. Centering his governance around the motto ‘Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi’ (Development as well as Heritage), PM Modi has successfully balanced economic progress with cultural heritage. The Chief Minister stated that India's progress has received a new direction due to his visionary leadership.

Central Support for Maharashtra's Infrastructure

Expressing gratitude for the substantial cooperation Maharashtra received from PM Modi over the last twelve years, the Chief Minister said that the Central Government has provided massive support to several ambitious irrigation projects in the state, Vadhavan Port, an extensive network of highways, metro projects, railway modernization, Navi Mumbai International Airport, and various other infrastructure projects. Projects that once existed only on paper are now becoming a reality.

Along with this, PM Narendra Modi's sensitivity in resolving Maharashtra's water scarcity issue is truly commendable. During the severe drought of 2015, he paid special attention to strengthening schemes like 'Jalyukt Shivar' and took the initiative to complete 100 pending dam projects in Vidarbha and Marathwada.

"It is Maharashtra's good fortune to have a leader who works with such sensitivity and promptness on our state's issues. On behalf of the 12.5 crore people of Maharashtra, I heartily congratulate our beloved and popular Prime Minister and wish him a healthy, long, and successful life," the Chief Minister expressed.

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Targeting the BJP, Rahul Gandhi said that 'those who call themselves Hindus, keep talking about violence, hatred and lies 24 hours a day. These are not Hindus at all. It is clearly written in Hinduism that one should stand with the truth and never back down from the truth.'

Many comments from the address given by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha on Monday have been removed from the record. It is worth noting that Rahul Gandhi had commented on Hindus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS in his address. Rahul Gandhi had said in his speech that those who call themselves Hindus, keep talking about violence-violence, hatred-hate 24 hours a day. PM Modi had also objected to this statement of Rahul Gandhi and said that calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious matter.

Controversy over Rahul Gandhi's comment
On Monday, Rahul Gandhi gave his first speech as Leader of Opposition. Rahul Gandhi targeted the BJP and said that 'those who call themselves Hindus, they keep talking about violence, hatred and lies 24 hours a day. They are not Hindus at all. It is clearly written in Hinduism that one should stand with the truth and never back down from the truth. Non-violence should be spread.' When PM Modi objected to this statement of Rahul, Rahul Gandhi said that I have called BJP violent, Narendra Modi is not the whole Hindu society. BJP is not the whole Hindu society. RSS is not the whole Hindu society.

Amit Shah demanded an apology

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed displeasure over Rahul Gandhi's comment. He said that 'such a big act cannot be hidden by making noise. The opposition leader said that those who call themselves Hindus, commit violence. They probably do not know that crores of people proudly call themselves Hindus, do they all commit violence. It is wrong to associate the feeling of violence with any religion and Rahul Gandhi should apologize.'

Rahul Gandhi also spoke about the Prime Minister

Rahul Gandhi claimed that 'Prime Minister Narendra Modi had thought of contesting elections from Ayodhya, but the survey told him that the people of Ayodhya will defeat him, so PM Modi went to Varanasi and escaped from there.' He said that PM Modi scares the BJP people, leave alone the people of Ayodhya. On this, Speaker Om Birla said that you should speak on policies, it is not right to make personal allegations against anyone.

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The Congress leader further said that Congress has always tried to empower the poor, while BJP has only looted the poor. He wrote in his letter that the BJP government is the one which used demonetization as organized loot and legalized loot.

Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Through this letter, he has sought time to personally explain his party's Nyaya Patra. In a two-page letter, Kharge wrote that these days he was neither shocked nor surprised by the Prime Minister's speech.

In his letter, Kharge said, "I was neither shocked nor surprised by your speeches in the last few days. Considering the situation of the BJP in the first phase of the elections, it was expected that you and your party leaders would say this. Congress has always been talking about the deprived poor and their rights. We know that you and your government are not concerned about the poor."

Kharge further said, "Congress is trying to give the deprived poor their rights. Your suit-boot government works only for the corporates, whose taxes you have reduced. While the salaried person has to pay more taxes. The poor People have to pay GST even for food and salt, while corporate people get the facility of GST refund. So whenever we talk about inequality between rich and poor, you link it with Hindu-Muslim. Our manifesto is for the people of India, whether Hindu or Sikh, Christian or Jain. I think you have still not forgotten your pre-independence allies, the Muslim League and the colonial powers.

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BJP has hit back at Congress' allegations of seizing bank accounts. Said that Congress, sensing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, has tried to make excuses out of frustration.

BJP President JP Nadda on Thursday dismissed Congress's remarks as "ridiculous" and said the party can use the money earned from "all the scams" during its rule in the election campaign.

Attempt to make excuses
BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused former Congress President Rahul Gandhi of lying on the issue and also targeted Sonia Gandhi. He said that both of them have embarrassed Indian democracy at the global level with their irresponsible comments. Congress did not file income tax returns on time, due to which their accounts were frozen.

Prasad said, 'We wish Congress all the best and our advice to the party is that the more you let Rahul Gandhi speak, the more base you will lose. He said that if people do not want to vote for Congress then BJP cannot do anything. He said that Congress, sensing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, has tried to make excuses out of frustration.

Congress held meeting due to fear of historic defeat
JP Nadda said on social media platform The common people have completely ignored Congress. Fearing a historic defeat, their top leadership held a press conference and made strong statements against Indian democracy and institutions.

Instead of correcting its mistakes, Congress...
He said that instead of correcting its mistakes, Congress is blaming the officials for its problems. Be it ITAT or Delhi High Court, everyone asked Congress to follow the rules, pay the outstanding taxes, but the party never did so.

He said, 'It is ridiculous to talk about financial helplessness for a party which has looted every region, every state and every moment of history. Congress can use the money collected from all its scams for election campaign.

There was simply no democracy for a few months
The BJP president said, 'Congress leaders say that having democracy in India is a lie. May I politely remind him that India did not have democracy only for a few months between 1975 and 1977 and the Prime Minister of India at that time was none other than Indira Gandhi.

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The National Democratic Alliance will be more discussed within the Grand Alliance on Monday than the strong show of unity that the Indi alliance, formed with opposition parties from across the country, demonstrated against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the stage in Mumbai on Sunday. The Grand Alliance is not dividing its seats waiting for the NDA clan to break in Bihar. Today, the result of that wait may be visible by late night or by Tuesday afternoon, in any case everything will be clear. NDA is preparing to expand its clan and the Grand Alliance is hopeful that it will break. The decision will be taken in Delhi. NDA is meeting in Delhi for distribution of 40 Lok Sabha seats of Bihar. For this meeting, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will leave for Delhi on Monday evening at around quarter to seven.

The anxiety of being torn apart amid claims
When Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was the architect of opposition unity, he was continuously talking about seat sharing from June 2023. Now 17 March 2024 has passed. On March 16, the Election Commission of India had announced the election dates, but CM Nitish Kumar, who suddenly came to his old home NDA while uniting the Indi Alliance, has not been able to finalize the seat distribution here yet. In this connection, he is going to Delhi on Monday evening. Although JDU is confident of 16 seats as per 2019 Lok Sabha elections and BJP is also preparing for 17 seats, but in view of the uncomfortable situation due to seat distribution among the remaining constituent parties, a final meeting has been called. The complete formula has to be decided in the meeting, but it is being told that by declaring seats for the first two-three phases, the matter can be kept pending. The Grand Alliance is considering the possibility of disintegration of NDA constituents as a possibility for itself, hence such a decision can be taken.

Why was there an uproar that this meeting was called?
If Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras had not said in a press conference in Bihar that he had not talked to anyone and he would contest the elections from Hajipur seat only, then the announcement on seats in NDA could have been made even without Monday's meeting. Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in a way forced Paras to say such a thing by talking about getting green signal on five seats for itself. On the other hand, if Chirag gets 17 seats, 17 BJP, 16 JDU and five seats, there is a situation of confusion among the other constituent parties. For this reason, NDA has now called this meeting and decided to convert milk into milk and water into water.

Eye on announcement for Paras, Manjhi, Kushwaha
In the meeting which is being discussed in Delhi from Monday night to Tuesday afternoon, basically Pashupati Kumar Paras's Lok Janshakti Party (Rashtriya), Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Jitan Ram Manjhi's party Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular. NDA's plan has to be revealed. These three are also current components of NDA. In this, Kushwaha was demanding two seats. Even Manjhi is asking for more and Paras definitely wants it. In such a situation, if BJP keeps 17 seats and JDU 16 seats, then it is not an easy task to distribute the remaining seven seats among these three while satisfying Chirag Paswan. In such a situation, BJP is working on a plan to satisfy these parties in the upcoming assembly elections. Apart from this, a Governor's offer is possible for an experienced and elderly leader.

What will VIP's Mukesh Sahni get?
The reason for the crisis within the NDA is also due to the entry of new allies. Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan Party has not yet decided where it will stand. Sahni has again left the BJP after joining it in the last assembly elections. This time too, the matter of his entry is almost in the final stage, but the final decision is pending on what he will get in the planning from Lok Sabha seat distribution to Assembly. Along with Paras, Manjhi, Kushwaha, the grand alliance is also waiting in front regarding Sahni.

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Dhar, Madhya Pradesh

All the parties have made vigorous preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. Allegations are being made in the background of this election. Criticism from BJP is responded to by Congress. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi addressed a public meeting at Dhar in Madhya Pradesh. During his speech, Kharge strongly attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kharge said that the house where Modi's photo is there should be considered poor.

Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra is currently in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Kharge and Rahul Gandhi addressed a public meeting at Dhar. This time Kharge criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech. He said, as soon as you turn on the TV, you see Modi's picture on it. A house where Modi's photo is seen on TV goes into poverty. Prime Minister Modi does not want development, does not want the welfare of the poor. They don't want education for their poor children. Because if the children of the poor come forward with education, Modi thinks that we may have to face problems. That is why Modi raises his stick against the poor. And when the Congress party advances, they work to crush it, Kharge said.

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The six-day tour became the center of controversies
Let us tell you, Rahul Gandhi is on a six-day US tour and on Wednesday he had his first interaction with Indians which has already become the center of controversies. For his remarks on the new Parliament building, the Congress leader has once again been accused of insulting India on foreign soil. At the same time, it has now been said that the BJP will be wiped out.

Constant attacker on Modi
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday arrived at a reception hosted for him by Indian American Frank Islam. Attacking Modi, he said that people have a misconception that the chariot of BJP and RSS cannot stop like this. While there is nothing like that. Rahul said that I can predict that you will see that in the next three or four elections we will fight the BJP and they will be wiped out.

Media will sing praises of PM Modi only
Responding to a question, the Congress leader said that I can tell you right now that he is going to have a really tough time in these assembly elections. We will do with them what we have done in Karnataka. Rahul also targeted the media of India. He said that if you ask the Indian media, they will say that no such thing is going to happen. However, as you can see for yourself, in the assembly elections held on May 10 in Karnataka, the Congress won a substantial majority and ousted the BJP from power.

Not supported by the people of India
Rahul told members of the think-tank community and parliamentarians that the Indian media is currently promoting the BJP. He said that you see yourself that 60 percent of the population neither votes for BJP nor for PM Modi. But they are good at shouting out their victories because they have the means. However, the vast majority of the Indian population is not going to support him. Responding to another question, Gandhi said he was confident that the Congress would be able to defeat the BJP.

Assembly elections will be held in five states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram – later this year, setting the stage for the crucial general elections in 2024.

It is not possible to defeat Modi
The 52-year-old Congress leader said that rebuilding the democratic set up will not be easy. It will be difficult. This is going to take time. However, we are absolutely sure that we will let the BJP defeat. He said that you will hear from the media that it is impossible to defeat Modi. Much of it is exaggerated. Modi is really very weak. There is huge unemployment in the country. Inflation has increased in the country. All these things sting very badly to the people of India.

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Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India has been postponed for the time being. The yatra is said to have been postponed till at least next month. Earlier it was discussed that this yatra would take place this month itself. Quoting officials of the Prime Minister's Office, the newspaper Kathmandu Post reported that India has now told Nepal the new possible date for Dahal's two-day visit. But until a concrete agenda for the visit is decided, both sides have agreed not to announce the date. The visit is expected to take place in the first fortnight of May.

Prime Minister Dahal's Chief Political Advisor Haribol Gujarel told the Kathmandu Post- 'After taking oath of the new foreign minister in Nepal, now the pace of preparations for the Prime Minister's visit to India will speed up. We hope that this visit will happen before mid-May. Nepali Congress leader NP Saud has been appointed as the country's new foreign minister.

The visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal to India is always an important event from Nepal's point of view. According to sources, several agreements will be signed during Dahal's visit. The work of preparing those agreement documents is progressing. Meanwhile, speculations are rife in Nepali media on the reasons behind Dahal's visit to India being postponed this month. It has been said in some reports that the program of the visit had to be postponed due to non-agreement between the two countries on the agreements proposed to be concluded during the visit of the Prime Minister.

An official aware of the preparations for Dahal's visit to India said that Nepalese officials are in touch with India. They are in talks about the agreements that will be signed during the Prime Minister's visit to New Delhi. One of the agreements proposed is related to the Raxaul-Kathmandu railway line project. A detailed report on the project has been prepared by Indian consultant Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL). Through this 136 km long rail project, a new transport link will be added between the Indian city of Raxaul and Kathmandu.

In view of China's railway projects in Nepal, the Raxaul-Kathmandu rail line construction is being seen as an important initiative. China has started a feasibility study to lay a rail line from Kathmandu to Kerung (located in China). After the completion of this project, the penetration of China in Nepal is likely to increase significantly. That is why many experts are of the opinion that the Raxaul-Kathmandu project is important not only in terms of economic and transport connectivity but also in geopolitical terms.

“We are hopeful that India will build this project under its grant,” an official of Nepal's Ministry of Infrastructure told The Kathmandu Post. It is understood that three other sites will also be connected between India and Nepal during Dahal's visit to India. The proposal to add rail connectivity will be discussed.

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Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury

Gujarat assembly election, scheduled to be held on 1 and 5 December 2022, is viewed by many as a dress rehearsal for 2024 Lok Sabha election. When the suffering people have been pointing towards redressal of some local issues like absence of cleanliness, sewage problem, shortage of water supply, troubles created by stray cattle, insufficiency of streetlights, etc., it is evident that they are not fully aware that assembly elections are being fought on ideological standpoints and policy decisions. That the state is in shamble and the much-trumpetted ‘Gujarat model’ of development has proved to be a hoax par excellence. 

Like other states, the people of Gujarat are also back-broken by steep rise in prices to the tune of 400% in last twenty years. It is not that the government cannot control the spurt in prices if it so wants. Apart from the fact that price rise is an inevitability in a capitalist economy, artificial shortage triggered by massive hoarding, black marketing, speculative forward and other derivate trading in food crops etc. are making the situation further worsened. 

Other problems tormenting the people of Gujarat along with their fellow citizens in other parts of the country include mounting unemployment, closure of one after another industry throwing thousands out of job resulting in fast diminishing of means of earning. Some facts would show what peril the state of Gujarat is.

Close down of industries 

More than 2000 industrial units in various estates of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) are closed, according to information provided in the Assembly by Gujarat Government in a written reply. With regard to this data on closed units, Secretary General of Federation of Gujarat Industries (FOGI) told KNN India. “There could be various reasons attached to it but do not rule out that a few might have not been able to sustain because of demonetization and roll out of GST due to slow refund circle process in first year.” 

According to the media reports collated data, around 2,069 units were shut in GIDCs in 31 districts as of December 31, 2018. In Jamnagar, 36 units were shut in GIDCs, but 19 of them closed down since 2016. Similarly, 19 out of 50 units in Kutch, and 10 out of 18 units in Banaskantha downed shutters in last two years, the state CM said in 2019. A total of 89 industrial accidents happened between January and July 2020 across Gujarat. Over 130 workers died in industrial accidents in Gujarat during the first seven months of 2020, of which 57 per cent were reported in four months after the Covid lockdown was lifted in phases in the state. 

Unemployment and job loss

The CMIE, in its “Unemployment Rate in India” report, noted that Gujarat’s unemployment rate which was 6.7% in March 2020, increased to a whopping 18.7% in April 2020. After Covid lockdown, no perceptible improvement is reported. In 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to bring the Gujarat model of development to India, the focus of the state was on megaprojects at the expense of SMEs which hurt job creation, says a new book. But the Gujarat Labour and Employment Minister Dilip Thakor said in a written reply during Question Hour in the assembly in February 2020 (pre-pandemic period) told that 4.58 lakh educated youth were registered with various state employment exchanges. Of these, 4.34 lakh are 'educated' while 23,433 are in the 'semi-educated' category. Six states saw rising joblessness in cities in July-September 2019. The highest spike in the urban unemployment rate was seen in Gujarat where it rose 1.3 percentage points to 4.3 per cent. In the beginning of June 2022, some 17 lakh job aspirants applied for 3400 vacant posts of Talati (village panchayat executive head), indicating the unemployment crisis in Gujarat. 

Gujarat showed signs of distress related to economy when state authorities recorded 294 suicides in 2018 where reason for ending life was termed as ‘poverty’. 318 persons ended their lives citing ‘unemployment’ as the reason. The figures were 163% and 21% more than the ones recorded in 2017.  Data on crime tabled by the state home ministry in the assembly stated that a total of 14,702 cases of suicide were registered in Gujarat in the last two years, suggesting that on an average nearly 20 persons took their lives every day. Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja said 90 persons had ended their lives in Kheda and 111 persons had committed suicide in Anand district of Gujarat in 2019. As the World Suicide Prevention Day is observed annually on 10 September, the NCRB report gave a snapshot of what drove Gujaratis to the brink in 2021. The number rose by 48%. Pravin Valera, coordinator of Jeevan Aastha Suicide Prevention helpline said that the call volumes increased by about 20% since 2020, which has remained high even in 2022. Notably, while PM Modi has claimed to have issued lakhs of appointment letters, only 373 people of Gujarat got the same.

Condition of the workers

The condition of the workers in the state is perilous. The minimum wage in the state has been marginally increased in the state only in October last after 25 years, i.e., in the face of ensuing election. Gujarat is having the lowest daily wage in the country which is only Rs. 220/- for agricultural labourer. The latest labour codes brought in by the Central Government and implemented by the State Government have opened up the vista of exploitation of workers. 

After the catastrophic fire that broke out at Nandan Denim Limited’s factory, one of the largest in Narole, a major hub for the famous textile and garment industry of Ahmedabad, during normal business hours on 8 February 2020 in which seven workers died of burns and asphyxiation and many were severely injured, a study, ‘Looking Beyond Fire Extinguishers’, was published in 2021 by Ajeevika Bureau, a non-profit organization, on the issue of labour practices leading to the fire accidents. The study which was published in ‘The Wire’ dated 11-09-21 found unsafe, inhumane and exploitative working conditions. In the last two years, 322 industrial accidents have occurred in Gujarat. The frequency of such accidents highlights the lack of basic worker safety and compliance with workplace safety laws i.e. the Factories Act, 1948. Workers are aware of the involved risks to their lives but continue nonetheless to fulfil their basic needs of food and shelter, the report found. The employers also know the consequences of their inaction. The factories were discovered to have hazardous working conditions such as exposure to dangerous substances, intense heat and dust pollution. 

The denial of safe and healthy working conditions to employees stems from the variety of factors in which employers shift responsibility for safety and health to the under-equipped contractor and, eventually, the employee. Even regular employment in these factories may not always provide a solution to the problem of safety and abusive working conditions that limit worker’s ability to raise concerns, according to the study. Factories normally hire workers under a variety of contractual arrangements and pay them on a daily or piece-rate basis. Only 4% of the total surveyed workers employed in higher roles were on the payroll of the factories. The remaining 96% were recruited through casual contracts. 12-hour work shifts are the norm while 40% of the surveyed workers agreed to have worked overtime including 24 hours without any break. 

The National Sample Survey Organization revealed that there are about 4.20 lakh child laborers in the labor state. They do not go to school because of growing poverty and hunger. In Gujarat, 4% of the labourers are child laborers. In rural areas, Gujarat ranks second in the country in employing child labour.

Predicament of the peasants

The condition of peasants in the state is no good. Peasants are selling land out of distress implying steady decline in the number of poor and marginal peasants. The number of agricultural workers has increased by 17 lakhs. Even after 75 years of independence, the peasants of Gujarat, like other states are just exposed to the vagaries of nature. They shave been suffering frequently from natural calamities like drought and flood, absence of proper support from the government, non-availability of remunerative price of their produce and debt-burden. Gujarat is one of the chronic drought-prone state of India, with an average annual rainfall about only 700 mm with more than half of the district sub-divisions of Gujarat receiving rainfall within the range of 200–400 mm. Substantial portions of the state continue to be arid to semi-arid. 43,938 sq km area in Gujarat drought prone. Last year, as the dry spell continued in the state, farmers in the affected districts like Surendranagar, Aravalli and Banaskantha had submitted memorandums to their respective local administrations to declare their districts drought-hit.  

Though the government was reported to have not made any statement on the rising monsoon deficiency, the then BJP Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said the Narmada dam had adequate water for drinking purposes for the next one year. His statement suggested that there would not be any shortage of drinking water obliquely indicating deficiency of water for irrigation. Over and above, a massive amount of water was released from the Madhuban Dam on the Daman Ganga River in the Valsad district as the region continued to remain battered by heavy rainfall. The floods had caused massive damage to crops on over 50,000 hectares.  Thousands of farmers across Gujarat had been found protesting this year demanding adequate power supply to save standing crops.  In March 2022, protests were held at more than 75 places as erratic and inadequate power had forced angry farmers on to the streets demanding increasing supply to run pumps for irrigation.  

A perception has been cunningly spread by the quarters of vested interest that farmers of Gujarat had no problem with the three Black Farm Laws which the central BJP government was forced to repeal under pressure of the year-long historic movement against the farm laws.  But the fact is that when a good number of Gujarati farmers wanted to join the struggling peasants at the Shahjahanpur border of UP, they were forcibly prevented. Though the Black Farm Laws have been withdrawn, the Gujarat government is making every effort to implement them through the backdoor. The state APMC (Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Committees) mandis are being closed down one after another giving rise to problems involving salary of the APMC employees, Minimum Support Price, Crop Insurance, etc. The state government has introduced the PPP (Private-Public Partnership) model in Crop Insurance, Land Measurement, etc. and redressal of any dispute over such areas remains abegging because of money power and political connections of the private operators. Suppressing facts, erstwhile BJP Chief Minister Vijay Rapani had claimed in a meeting of NITI Aayog in Delhi in 2018 that farmers in Gujarat are prosperous. However, as seen above, reality only contradicts his claim even today. 

Hunger and Poverty

The number of poor people in the state under the National Food Security Act is 3.82 crore. It means 62.62% of total population. ‘Hunger Watch’ survey carried out by Anna Suraksha Adhikar Abhiyan (ASAA), Gujarat, to track the hunger situation amongst vulnerable and marginalized communities of the state amid the of Covid 19 pandemic revealed that 20.6 per cent households sometimes skipped meals due to lack of food while 21.8 per cent said they sometimes slept without a single meal. “The government has not given accurate information to the families, many of whom are from very deprived communities, as to why their ration cards cannot be used anymore to claim their basic entitlements. This process of making ration cards ‘silent’ has happened at the local taluka and/or district level. Additionally, in many areas, taluka level committee meetings are not being held due to Covid-19 effectively depriving families their right to food security,” the report stated. 50 lakh families do not get enough to eat.

The number of families living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) in Gujarat have risen by 2,556, taking the total number of BPL families over 31.56 lakh, as on August 31, 2021, the Gujarat Assembly was informed in March this year. 20 lakh families in Gujarat do not have a good home to live in. A large number of poor people have no ration card. The BJP government in Gujarat has been in power since 1996. Present PM Modi was the Gujarat chief minister for about 14 years, If the BJP wanted, it could have eradicated poverty in Gujarat during its  26 years of rule. But that has not happened.

Fragile Healthcare system

Gujarat has often been lauded for its effective healthcare system. The Fragility of the healthcare system of the state was highly exposed during Covid Pandemic. Even whatever little facilities are existing in the hospitals including the private ones fell short when the wave of covid spread in the state. There were queues of ambulances outside the hospitals. There were acute shortages of oxygen cylinders and ventilators. In the Covid-19 pandemic, the state has registered the highest mortality rate in India — 4.38 per cent — which is considerably higher than the national average of 2.49 per cent. In the initial weeks of the outbreak, government hospitals in Gujarat, especially Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, had grabbed headlines for their high mortality rates. The Gujarat High Court had slammed the state government, saying the conditions at the Civil Hospital were “pathetic”, and that the hospital was “as good as a dungeon, maybe even worse”. Data from the health secretary’s office indicates that average span of hospitalization among discharged patients in Gujarat is 11.03 days, while among the deceased, it’s 6.24 days. As against over 25,000 to 30,000 covid identification tests conducted in Tamil Nadu, which has almost the same population as Gujarat, the figure for Gujarat on 20 and 21 July 2020 was 12,867 and 13,693 respectively. In fact, Ahmedabad Medical Association filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court demanding that the tests be made proportionate to the population.

But, in a bid to help private hospitals for minting huge profit taking advantage of people’s distress, the government on the one hand allowed them to charge exorbitant fees for treatment, while on the other hand, instead of proper ventilators, it placed orders for ‘Dhaman 1’ ventilators developed by a Rajkot-based private firm Jyoti CNC which were not approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI).A row erupted when the Ahmedabad civil hospital wrote to the government stating that the ‘Dhaman-1’ ventilators were not up to the mark and sought sophisticated machines. Justice DA Mehta Commission of Inquiry report revealed multiple regulatory violations and hazardous practices at the two Covid hospitals in Gujarat where 13 patients were killed in fire accidents last year. “It was an invitation for disaster,” the report, tabled in the Gujarat Assembly, said about Ahmedabad’s Shrey Hospital in Ahmedabad and Uday Shivanand Hospital in Rajkot. That’s why it has come as a shock that in the Covid-19 pandemic, the state has registered the highest mortality rate in India — 4.38 per cent — which is considerably higher than the national average of 2.49 per cent. In the initial weeks of the Covid 19 outbreak, government hospitals in Gujarat, especially Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, had grabbed headlines for their high mortality rates. The Gujarat High Court had slammed the state government, saying the conditions at the Civil Hospital were “pathetic”, and that the hospital was “as good as a dungeon, may be even worse”. To shield this reality, monopoly-controlled media who lined up outside hospitals in opposition-ruled states, skipped any coverage of the BJP-led Gujarat. There were allegations of large scale scams as well in the healthcare sphere. But the Gujarat government is going ahead with its sinister plan to corporatize healthcare on a larger scale. 

Pathetic Condition of Education

Gujarat is claimed by the ruling quarters as one of the economically developed states of India, but when it comes to human development, particularly education and health, its performance is quite poor. The performance of Gujarat in other education-reason related indicators is also dismal. According to the Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) 2018, only 43% of students of government schools in standard V could read standard II level text. This clearly shows the quality of the education of government schools in Gujarat. Gujarat’s education department survey admits that 12,000 government schools have only one or two teachers. 

Gujarat’s finance minister announced the thrust areas of this year's budget, and education is one of them. But the numbers of the state’s education spending do not match with the narrative. The fund allocation and the percentage share of education in GSDP is one of the lowest in the country. For the fiscal 2019-20, the percentage share of education in GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) was only 1.55%. A survey in 2019 showed that 81% of government school students of classes 3-8 cannot read or write Gujarati fluently. Over 32% posts of teachers of English, math and science, and over 80% posts of principals are vacant in state-run secondary schools in Gujarat, the education minister told the assembly in 2021. 

As known to all, there is a privatization spree in education. The policy of privatization and commercialization of education has converted education into commodity though the Supreme Court in a recent remark has rebutted that concept.  But the BJP government is going ahead with its privatization policy. In April last, Gujarat government passed Bill to pave way for 11 new private universities including Adani University. Members of Gujarat State Professors’ Association protested at various colleges in an attempt to voice their concerns over the bill.
Some 446 private schools and just 20 government primary schools got permission to function in 2020-21. The state has 1326 government and 5138 private secondary and higher secondary schools. Consequently, the graph of quality and expansion is going down in the state. Closure and merger of government schools has become the order of the day. New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is slated to put the final nail to the coffin of education. 

Crime against women

Gujarat is cited by the ruling quarters as one of the safest states for women to reside and roam around freely. But numbers question ‘Safe Gujarat’ tag by the ruling BJP. As per data released by the National Records Crime Bureau for 2019, complaints of crimes committed against women have been increasing steadily. While about three molestation cases of women are taking place every day in the state, more than one rape complaint is reported to have been filed daily. Organizations working for women say that the cases of crime against women are much more than reported. Gujarat reported nearly four rapes every day in the two years beginning 1January 2018. In 2019- 20, the state reported 2,723 rape cases, of which 41 were incidents of gang-rape, while 35 involved girls younger than five years old. A total of 3,796 cases of rape and 61 offences of gang rape were registered in Gujarat in the two years ending on 31 December 2021. As per the report of the Central Ministry, sexual harassment at workplaces is maximum in Gujarat. The state reported an average of five cases of rape every day in 2020 and 2021. 

Spurt in Cybercrime

While the 'Digital India' push has led to a massive surge in online transactions, cybercrime offence too are growing exponentially. Gujarat turned hub of cybercrime during lockdown. As per data released by the Cyber Crime Cell of Ahmedabad Police, over 15,300 complaints related to financial frauds have been received from all over Gujarat between January and July 2020. Over the past five years, cybercrime cases in Gujarat have risen by 235%, reveals data released by National Crime Records. Bureau (NCRB). Against one case of cybercrime every day in 2017, four cases were registered in 2021.

Rise in Corruption and wasteful expenditure

Gujarat has the distinction of ranking third among the states of the country in the number of corruption crimes reported. According to NITI Aayog figures, the number of corruption crimes in Gujarat is 1,677.34 corruption crimes reported for every one crore inhabitants. The state cabinet, it may be re-called, passed a resolution in November 2018 dissolving Gujarat State Land Development Corporation (GSLDC) following large scale corruption and financial irregularities. ACB unearthed disproportionate assets worth Rs 56 crore in 2021. The accused included 184 government employees and 103 individuals. In last December, question paper for recruitment in government services had leaked. Under people’s pressure, the government had to take eight accused in custody.

Alongside, wasteful expenditure is also on the rise. In order to divert people’s attention and foment Gujarat chauvinism, a 600 feet tall statue of Sardar Patel was installed spending as high as Rs 2,989 crores from government exchequer. The construction of the statue had affected 75,000 tribals across 72 villages in Gujarat’s Narmada district. Former US President Donald Trump's three-hour Gujarat visit cost over Rs 100 crore in 2020 and over-attention to that programme was one of the causes which considerably delayed adoption of preventive measures against Covid 19. It is pertinent to mention that as Trump's motorcade made its way from the airport in Ahmedabad to a sprawling cricket stadium named after PM Modi, the city's municipal corporation had built a four-foot-high wall to hide a stretch of slums on the route. During the global summit in January 2017 as well as Japanese Prime Minister’s visit in September 2017, the government put huge green cloths to screen the slums from the roads. These slums housing thousands of poor still exist in Ahmedabad, the capital of ‘vibrant’ Gujarat. 

In such a scenario, illustrated with data and reports, people of Gujarat are voting for a new government and we find the campaign being very lopsided in favour of the ruling party (BJP), with rampant misuse of money and government machinery, attempts to silence at least one opposition party in media (AAP), and creating obstacles in campaigns of both the major opposition parties (Congress and AAP).

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New Delhi : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "black magic" remark, saying he must "stop lowering the dignity" of the PM's post by talking about such superstitious things.

Gandhi's attack came a day after Prime Minister Modi lashed out at the Congress for wearing black dresses on August 5 in protest against price rise, saying those who believe in "kala jadu" will never be able to win the trust of the people again.

Attacking him, Gandhi asked if the prime minister was unable to see inflation or unemployment in the country.

"Stop lowering the dignity of the prime minister's post and misleading the country by talking about superstitious things like 'black magic' to hide your black deeds, prime minister-ji," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"You will have to give answers on people's issues," the former Congress chief added.

Addressing a function in Panipat via video-conferencing to dedicate the second-generation ethanol plant worth Rs 900 crore, Modi had said, "On August 5, we saw how some people tried to spread 'black magic'. These people think that by wearing black clothes they can end their despondency."

"But they do not know that by engaging in witchcraft, black magic and superstition, they cannot earn the trust of people again," Modi had said.

The Congress hit back at the prime minister over his 'kala jadu'(black magic) remark, saying while the country wants him to talk about their problems but "jumlajeevi" keeps saying just anything.

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