Congress anti-poor and anti-development party: BJP

New Delhi: Hitting back at Congress after it termed the Modi dispensation a “failure” on all counts, BJP today said it was an “anti-poor and anti-development” party and cited a host of figures and schemes to project the Centre’s “success” and claimed that it had shown the “will” to fulfill its promises.

Noting India’s “high” growth rate, BJP said there is a global acknowledgement that it will become the fastest growing country in the world and attacked the opposition party for disrupting Parliament to stall the government’s agenda.

Giving figures, BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said the NDA government is constructing 18 km of highways on an average daily against the 2 km under the UPA and electricity generation had shown 8.5 per cent growth.

FDI has shown an annual growth of 40 per cent, he said, adding that the government had taken a number of measures to curb corruption at the top while noting that over Rs 2 lakh crore was earned in the spectrum allocation.

Black money up to Rs 16000 crore had been detected and Rs 11000 crore of it seized under the Modi government, he said.

The government had identified 3 crore fake LPG consumers through its direct benefit transfer scheme and it will save Rs 15000 crore every year, he said.

More than 80 lakh families, all of them poor and mostly from backward communities, had been given loans under the MUDRA scheme to run their own enterprise, he said and also spoke about the insurance and pension schemes aimed at the welfare of the poor.

Refuting Congress leader Anand Sharma’s charge that the government had undermined the rights of states, the BJP media cell head said it increased the revenue share of states from 25 per cent to 42 per cent as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission.

“Over 65 of the 85 projects stalled under Congress-led UPA government has been revived by our government. The Prime Minister with his efforts has been able to change how India and Indians are viewed in the world,” he said.

“All this has happened even when Congress is not letting Parliament function as it is anti-poor and anti-development. We totally reject its charges against out government,” he said, noting that the minimum pension was increased to Rs 1000 by the government.

Electrification of 3200 villages out, rolling out of the one-rank-one-pension scheme and a jump in India’s position from 142 to 130 on the ease of doing business were cited by him as other achievements of the government.

PTI