Kharge said that in real terms, household liabilities/debt have increased by 241% from 2013-14 to 2022-23. Household debt as a percentage of GDP is at an all-time high of 40%, and household savings are at a 50-year low. The consumption of Indian households has exceeded their income after the pandemic. Expressing his/her views, the Congress MP said that the price of home-made vegetable thali has increased by 11% in September 2024 as compared to the previous year. The inflation imposed by the BJP and the destruction of the unorganized sector are responsible for this mess.
Mallikarjun Kharge in a direct attack on PM Modi said that in 10 years, ‘Make in India’ has failed spectacularly because the benefits of India’s growing exports were discarded by your policies during Congress-UPA.
India’s export growth
Congress-UPA
2004 to 2009 -186.59%
2009 to 2014 -94.39%
BJP-NDA
2014-2019 – 21.14%
2019-2023 – 56.8%
Kharge further said that it is no surprise that the average growth rate of the manufacturing sector between 2014-15 to 2023-24 is just 3.1% (BJP-NDA), whereas the average growth rate between 2004-05 to 2013-14 is 7.85% ( Congress-UPA). This disastrous policy has reduced the share of workers employed in manufacturing from 15.85% (2017-18) to 11.4% (2023-24).
Challenge of diamond traders of Surat
Surat’s diamond artisans are facing challenges as workers’ wages have been cut by up to 30% and major diamond units are being forced to operate only 4 days a week. In the last 6 months, more than 60 diamond artisans have committed suicide. In your campaign to corner the Congress party on MNREGA, you have deliberately shown failure to allocate more funds for this demand driven scheme. Kharge further said that your government has artificially reduced the demand by delaying wages and not providing timely funds to the opposition ruled states. The demand for work under MNREGA has dropped to just 1.6 crore in August 2024, which is the lowest monthly demand since October 2022. ‘Modi economics’ is a curse for India’s economy!
