New Delhi| March 18: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday slammed Narendra Modi government’s policies saying 2 crore job per year is a pipe dream. On the third day of the Congress’s 84th plenary session in New Delhi today, Singh used the word ‘jumla’ and said: “When Modi ji was campaigning he made lots of tall promises, those promises have not been fulfilled. He said we will provide 2 crore jobs, we have not seen even 2 lakh jobs. Modi said farmers’ income will be doubled in 6 years; it is a jumla-type statement unlikely to be achieved.”
Manmohan Singh also criticised Modi government’s mismanagement of issues in Jammu and Kashmir and said the atmosphere is deteriorating every day. “The atmosphere is deteriorating day in and day out, it’s obvious from the fact that our borders are insecure, be it cross border terror or internal,” he said.
Singh also described the government’s demonetisation move as “ill-considered” and GST as “hastily implemented”. “The BJP-led government messed up the Indian economy. The ill-considered demonetisation and hastily implemented GST have destroyed small scale enterprises,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, former party president Sonia Gandhi reminded party workers how the Congress had opened the door to alliances earlier to defeat the NDA. The plenary session also adopted a political resolution calling for “a pragmatic approach for cooperation with all like-minded parties” and “a common workable programme” against the BJP in the 2019 elections. Congress Plenary Session LIVE UPDATES
Besides, the Congress had sent out another clear change: of a generational shift at the top to mark Rahul Gandhi taking over the reins. The theme of the plenary is ‘Waqt hai badlav ka (It’s time for change)’. Senior party leaders, in the presence of the high command, talked about infighting and how “it’s Congressmen who defeat the Congress”, while young leaders of the party shared the podium at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi. READ: Congress Plenary Session: Projecting younger face, Congress takes a step closer to alliances
Party president Rahul Gandhi, in his brief inaugural address, also said that the new Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body of the party, would be a mix of young blood and elders. The Congress under him would take seniors and youth together as the tradition of the party was to embrace change without forgetting its past and legacy, he said. “If the youth will take the Congress forward, the party will not move forward without its experienced leaders. So my task is to unite the seniors and the youth, to give a new direction,” he had said.
The speeches, of both Sonia and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, as well as others who participated in the discussions called for hard work and commitment from party workers to defeat the BJP.
