nCongress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying instead of acknowledging slowdown and looking for solution, he is busy managing headlines and events and as if Government's decisions have not damaged economy enough, it is now ready to deal body blow to it by signing Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement. Modi is expected to sign the agreement during the RCEP Summit during his ongoing two-day visit to Thailand.
Sonia also lashed out at the Government over the WhatsApp snooping controversy saying these activities are not only illegal and unconstitutional, they are also shameful.
Sonia had convened a high level meeting of party's General Secretaries, State in-charges, heads of frontal organisations and departments to chalk out nationwide protests between November 5 and 15 against the Modi Government policies with special focus on economic crisis, unemployment, farm distress and the "adverse" impact of the proposed RCEP agreement. The RCEP comprising the 10-member ASEAN bloc and six other countries — India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand — is engaged in negotiations for a free-trade pact.
Addressing a meeting at the AICC headquarters, she alleged that instead of acknowledging the "severe slowdown" and looking for a comprehensive resolution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is too busy "managing headlines and events".
"As a citizen and as a member of the responsible opposition, it pains me to see the Indian economy under siege. What is even more worrying is that the government is in complete denial," Sonia said.
"As economic decisions have not damaged the economy enough, it is now ready to deal a body blow to it by signing the RCEP — the regional free trade agreement of 16 Asian countries," Sonia said.
This will result in untold hardship for farmers, shopkeepers, and small and medium enterprises, she claimed. Her remarks come as negotiations to finalise the long-overdue RCEP enter final stages. All eyes are on India whether it will finally take the plunge and agrees to the world's largest trading deal spanning 16-Asia Pacific nations.
In the address to party general secretaries, State in-charges and heads of frontal organisations, Gandhi said, "The latest shocking revelation that through the Israeli Pegasus software acquired by the Modi Government, snooping and spying activities on activists, journalists and political persons have taken place."
"These activities are not only illegal and un-constitutional, they are shameful," she said. "Far from creating jobs, recent studies now suggest that demonetisation, a messed up GST and subsequent economic decisions of the Modi Government have resulted in an unprecedented loss of 9 million jobs during the last 6 years," she said.
Earlier Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed that if India signs the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact it will prove to be "farmers' destruction agreement" as in times of economic slowdown, Indian markets should provide maximum help to domestic farmers. In a tweet, Priyanka Gandhi said, "There is an economic slowdown in the country. Our policy right now should be such that our markets provide maximum help to our farmers." In this environment, the RCEP will prove to be "farmers' destruction agreement", she said. "This will gobble up all the interests of the farmers of India, and their space for selling their produce will be limited," the Congress general secretary claimed.
