There is no extra need to explain why the Modi-led government must have presented a white paper against the then government while general elections are right around the corner. The question is about the authenticity of the allegations levied in this white paper.
Sitharan has targeted former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his government for creating hurdles which held back the economy. She also accused the UPA government of being involved in widespread corruption which shook the confidence of investors who decided to invest in foreign countries instead.
As per the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023, 12,88,900 Indian citizens renounced their Indian citizenship in the last nine years. There could be various reasons behind such mass migration, which also included many millionaires. Congress has cited the report in its ‘Black Paper’ while analysing Modi government’s 10-year rule which Congress supremo Mallikarjun Kharge called ‘Das Saal, Anyay Kaal’. In its 54-page black paper, Congress levied various charges against the BJP government of destroying the economy and agricultural sector, rise in unemployment rate and crime rate against minorities as well as women.
In a dig at Modi, Kharge said that the Prime Minister always hits out at Nehru but never mentions the number of jobs given to people in the public sector. Kharge’s statements hold truth as Modi does criticise Nehru in majority of his speeches. Two days ago in his speech Modi spoke about how Nehru was anti-reservation and wrote letters to chief ministers of various states against the reservation. Congress in its counter attack has questioned the need for BJP to obsessively mention Nehru almost everywhere. The Congress has also questioned the claims of BJP over India becoming the third financial superpower under their regime while the unemployment rate being at its highest in the last 45 years. Modi sarcastically likened Congress’ black paper to ‘kaala tika’, which will ward off the evil eye on the achievements of his government.
Truth be told, the more Congress engages itself in BJP’s trap of criticism, the more beneficial it will be for the saffron party. It is evident that BJP wants to break apart the INDIA alliance, which is already started falling apart. To boost the weakened economy, the Centre had to relax regulations on foreign direct investment which resulted in FDI of 35.73 billion dollars from April 2020 to August 2020. That is the highest number for the first five months in a fiscal year. Despite the drop of 23.9% of GDP from April 2020 to June 2020, the inflow of FDI was still high. However, domestic investment has dipped even though there has been a rise in foreign
direct investment.
In its black paper Congress has claimed that over the last decade there has been a rise in discrimination against women, minorities and the people belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities. Congress has also held BJP responsible for divisive politics which has caused hatred and polarisation between people. Given the political equations, it seems that BJP wants upcoming elections to be Congress vs BJP contest. With regional parties in the INDIA front withdrawing their support to the Congress one by one, it is certain that Congress’ vote-share will be divided. To add to the Congress’ misery, BJP has already proved its dominance over the Hindi-speaking States. But will BJP’s move to spite Congress by presenting a white paper from the Singh-government era yield fruits for the saffron party? That depends on how long BJP will drag this pattern.
