In the cross hairs

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In the cross hairs

Wednesday, 01 June 2022 | Pioneer

In the cross hairs

The Opposition is gunning for Modi Government as it starts prepping for the 2024 election

Two unrelated developments on Tuesday, pertaining to politics and economics, put the ruling BJP dispensation at the Centre on the defensive. The saffron party’s aggressive brand of Hindutva and controversial temple-related statements by some of its leaders of late have even stirred Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar into action, who recently called upon Muslims to “prepare for action” against any adverse outcome of the ongoing suits in various courts in India concerning temple-mosque complexes like Kashi Vishwanath temple and Gyanvapi mosque. The latest salvo was fired by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee who openly said the saffron party’s policies of hatred and violence will have “no entry” across India. Calling the Government “adulterated”, she accused it of mismanaging the country’s economy and of using Central agencies to stifle the Opposition. Criticising the Government’s eight years in power, several other Opposition leaders have also been recently claiming that the people of India would ensure that the BJP’s “politics of hate and violence” will be rejected in the next round of general election. 

As the Opposition parties start preparing ground of the big battle of 2024, especially on the issues of economy, unemployment and rising religious intolerance, they are repeatedly targeting the Modi Government for allegedly beginning its term with false promises, culminating in failed experiments after eight years. Earlier, on April 16, leaders of 13 Opposition parties in a joint statement expressed concern over the “growing incidents of hate hate speech” and “recent outburst of communal violence” across the country, especially in States such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Also, according to the Union Government’s own data, India’s annual per capita income at constant prices has remained below the pre-COVID pandemic level at Rs 91,481 in 2021-22. In another aspect sure to bring some relief to the South Block mandarins, however, the per capita income based on Net National income at constant price grew by 7.5 per cent in FY22 over the previous year. At current prices, the per capita income rose by 18.3 per cent to Rs 1.5 lakh during the 2021-22 fiscal. For those not very savvy with Government’s economic terminology, the per capita income is a crude indicator of the prosperity of a country.

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