‘Aurangabad incident reflects economic inequality in India’

DHARAMSHALA: Expressing grief over the death of 16 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh in a train accident in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Shanta Kumar said that the incident reflects the chinks in India’s economy, also dubbed as a fastest growing nation in the world.

In a press statement issued here on Saturday, the 85-year-old said that impatience of people returning home on foot has opened the eyes of the entire nation.

He said that labourers tired after walking 40km distance on foot were sleeping on the rail track and were crushed on death by a train in Aurangabad.

He said that before Covid-19 it was being claimed that India is the fastest-growing economy in the world and figures among the top five richest countries and crores of people have been brought out of poverty but now coronavirus pandemic has brought out the truth.

He said that though the Modi government launched various schemes for the welfare of the poor the system that is responsible for implementation is dishonest and inefficient. “Implementation of those schemes was not proper. The statistics that are presented as our success are damned lies,” he alleged adding that development happened but it did not help the poor.

“The ever-increasing population will never let poverty elimination become a reality in our country and tough laws are needed to be implemented. Otherwise, Aurangabad like incident will be just the normal,” he said.