Modi@4: Rahul issues 'report card' as Oppn slams PM

The Congress chief gave 'F' to the Modi government for agriculture, foreign policy and job creation, and 'A+' to the prime minister for slogan creation and self promotion.

Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday mocked the National Democratic Alliance government's performance in the last four years, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi struggled with complex issues and had a short attention span.

Taking to Twitter, he gave gave grades to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government in a mock report card of the prime minister.

The Congress chief gave 'F' to the Modi government for agriculture, foreign policy and job creation, and 'A+' to the prime minister for slogan creation and self promotion.

'4 year Report Card. Agriculture: F, Foreign Policy: F, Fuel Prices: F, Job Creation: F, Slogan Creation: A+, Self Promotion: A+, Yoga: B-. Remarks: Master communicator; struggles with complex issues; short attention span,' Gandhi said on Twitter.

The Congress also said people now know that the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo was harmful for the country after four years of the NDA rule, which it described as a period of 'treachery, trickery, revenge and lies'.

Releasing a booklet titled 'India Betrayed' on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the Modi government, Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and Randeep Surjewala said an atmosphere of fear and hatred has been created under the NDA rule.

"People now know that Modi-Amit Shah duo is harmful for country. Four years of the Modi government can be defined in four terms -- treachery, trickery, revenge and lies," All India Congress Committee communication's in-charge Surjewala said.

Referring to alleged atrocities on Dalits, tribals, minorities and women, Azad, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said, "Nobody is safe in India under the BJP government. Everyone is getting sleepless nights."

"Atmosphere of fear, hatred and violence was created in the last four years of the Modi government," AICC general secretary Gehlot said at the joint press conference.

They also released and showed a short-film describing the prevailing atmosphere in the country.

Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev said women in the country no longer feel safe under the Modi dispensation.

Youth Congress chief Keshav Yadav said the youth did not have anywhere to look as their future was in the dark due to the lack of opportunities and jobs.

In Mumbai, Congress's national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the BJP was terrified as the non-NDA parties were coming together ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

He also claimed that the allies of the saffron party were deserting it and likened the ruling party to a 'sinking ship'.

At a press conference, the Congress leader said the arithmetic truth was that the BJP won elections when those were multi-cornered contests.

"We want to ensure that there is no division of votes. The coming together of (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee and (Bahujan Samaj Party chief) Mayawati at Bengaluru for (Karnataka Chief Minister) H D Kumaraswamy's swearing-in and the alliance of the traditional rivals in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, for five bypolls are not small things.
"They (BJP) are terrified at the prospect of the non-NDA parties coming together," Singhvi said.

Replying to a query on whether the Shiv Sena, a BJP ally which has said it would go solo in future elections, would be inducted into the anti-NDA camp, Singhvi said, "I did not name any party and I am not referring to this one."

Terming the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'arrogant', he claimed that the saffron party was not even treating its allies well.

Singhvi hit out at the BJP for celebrating being in power for four years and said the country, however, was not rejoicing.

"Are these four years meant for celebration or was there a betrayal of the people? If the occasion is to celebrate the jumlas (gimmickry) of the Betrayal Janata Party, then everyone is celebrating. We are not great orators like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but we have plain facts," the Congress leader said.

He said the agricultural growth rate of the country, which was 4.2 per cent between 2004 and 2014 (when the UPA was in power), had fallen to 1.9 per cent in the last four years.

"Modi's promise of doubling farmers' income by 2022 is not just a jumla, but an insult to one's intelligence. To achieve this target in 2022, the current growth rate should be 15 per cent," Singhvi added.

He alleged that the BJP had junked its poll promise of giving the Minimum Support Price as well as 50 per cent above the production cost to farmers after coming to power.

"If one looks at the MSP for crops for 2017-18, farmers are facing losses. Only the BJP can lie with conviction and without shame," Singhvi said.

The Congress leader lashed out at the saffron party's government for allowing the import of 1,500 metric tonnes of sugarcane from Pakistan, despite the country producing excess sugarcane.

"Can there be any bigger betrayal of the sugarcane farmers than this?" he asked.

In Bhubaneswar, hitting out at the PM for his 'naamdar' (dynast) barb, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said the people of the country want the next prime minister to be 'kaamdar', 'jimmedar' and 'imandar' who is not in the habit of making hollow promises.

"People of the country want the next prime minister to be not only 'kaamdar' (one who works) but also 'jimmedar' (responsible) and 'imandar' (honest) who is not a 'jumlawar' (one who makes hollow promises)," Sibal told reporters.

He was referring to the 'naamdar' barb by Modi apparently targeted at Congress president Rahul Gandhi during his campaign in the Karnataka Assembly election.

Sibal, who was in Bhubaneswar, to take part in the 'Vishwasghat Divas' (Betrayal Day) observed by the Congress, said neither 'achhe din' nor 'sachhe din' could be experienced in the country as the prime minister had betrayed the people by not fulfilling any of the promises he had made before the 2014 polls.

Taking a swipe at Modi's achhe din slogan, he said, "After four years, na achhe din na sachhe din. Modi ji hum aage badhenge tere bin (Modiji we will forge ahead without you)."

As part of the 'Vishwasghat Divas' observed by the Congress across the country to mark the completion of four years of the Modi government, party workers staged protests in Bhubaneswar and in the various districts of Odisha.

In Lucknow, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati slammed the Modi government for its 'historic failure' on dealing with the issues which concern the common man.

"The four years of Narendra Modi government prove that it has historically failed on the issues of inflation, poverty, unemployment, welfare work and other issues which affect the life of the people in the country," Mayawati said.

"The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself term all their work as historic and that is why fuel prices are at a historic high during his government,” she said.

"There is a need to control it or else BSP will be forced to start nationwide protest dharnas against it," she warned while speaking on the completion of four years of the Modi government.

The BSP chief accused the Modi government of misusing official machinery to weaken opposition parties.

Under such a scenario it had no right to celebrate its four years by spending crores of rupees which could be used on people's welfare, she said.

She said the parting of ways by some National Democratic Alliance partners indicated that the BJP-led government was unsuccessful.

"The NDA alliance partners are parting ways one by one and this proves that the four years of the BJP-led government have been most unsuccessful and disappointing at all levels," Mayawati said.

"This kind of exploitation of the poor, labourers, common people and women under the central government has never been seen before, she said.

She accused the government of 'chori aur seena jori' -- doing wrong and then boasting about it -- and said its promises remained unfulfilled.

Mayawati had convened a meeting of her party office bearers later in the day.

She said the BJP's own people were not listening to the leaders and it was an indication that the countdown of the Modi government had started, she said.

The BSP chief claimed that the government had bowed before the capitalists, as a result of which the country's economy had suffered and the people were concerned whether their money was safe in the banks.

She alleged that there was anarchy in all walks of life, which proved that the BJP's rule meant "jungle raj".

"It seems that they have given permission to their people to level all kind of unfounded allegations and indulge in illegal acts," she said.

"There have also been an unsuccessful attempts to hush up rape cases in Kathua and Unnao by the BJP, showing the reality of the party," Mayawati alleged.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav also hit out at the Modi government, alleging that the poor, Dalits and women suffered during the last four years.

Taking to twitter, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister raised the issue of bank frauds and alleged that the corrupt were allowed the flee the country.

He said farmers, businessmen and unemployed masses were reeling from the decisions of the Modi government.

'Rajniti mein bhrashtachar ka khel , banking system hua fail. Petrol-diesel ke daam uchtam, dollar ke mukabale rupiya nyuntam. (Corruption in politics, banking system failed. Petrol-diesel prices are highest, while rupee fell to lowest.)

'Desh se gholatebaaz farar, videsho se dikhave ke karar. Mehgai par GST ki maar. (Scamsters are fleeing the country, agreements with foreign countries are only an eyewash, double attack of inflation and GST.)

'Dalit, garib , mahila par vaar. Kisan, berozgar, karobari behal, mubarak ho yeh chaar saal (Dalits, poor, women are oppressed. Farmers, unemployed youth and businessmen are distressed. Congratulations on completing 4 years),' Yadav tweeted in Hindi.

The Left claimed that the BJP government has nothing to show for its four years at the Centre except 'failures and rhetoric' and should be ousted from power.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist alleged that these four years had seen an 'unprecedented assault' on India's social fabric and the livelihood of the people.

The future of the country and the people can only be safeguarded and improved with the ouster of this government, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

"These four years have seen an unprecedented assault on India as a country and the livelihood of our people. There has been a four-pronged attack that continued to intensify by the day during these four years," he said.

This includes 'aggressive pursuit of neo-liberal economic reforms ruining the lives of a vast majority of our people, sharpening communal polarisation leading to ruptures that is tearing asunder the social fabric of our country and an all-round attack on parliamentary democracy and constitutional authorities and institutions', the CPI-M leader said.

Besides, this assault also has completely 'surrendered India's independent foreign policy and our sovereignty to the dictates of US imperialism', he alleged.

These four put together constitute the most serious of assaults on both the country and the people, Yechury claimed.

Communist Party of India leader D Raja alleged that the BJP-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh combine had unleashed 'fascism, fear and intimidation', with people living in fear and insecurity and their constitutional and democratic rights under attack.

"The BJP government has remained in office for four years and there is no other achievement. It is full of failures. All we got is rhetoric in these years," he said.

The CPI leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised 'Achche din' and 'Sabka saath, sabka vikas' and gave calls for 'Make in India' and 'Start-Up India', which turned out to be mere rhetoric.