Congress blames economic woes on Modi policies
PARTY’S BIG KARNATAKA RALLY PART OF ‘UNITE INDIA’ MARCH
INDIA’S main opposition Congress party held a huge public rally in the southern Indian state of Karnataka last Saturday (15), accusing the government of not doing enough to contain inflation and create jobs for young people.
Tens of thousands came to the public meeting, organised to mark 1,000 km (620 miles) of the party’s five-month-long protest march named Bharat Jodo Yatra or Unite India rally.
The party launched the more than 3,500 km, crosscountry march in September from the coastal town of Kanyakumari on the southern tip of India to Srinagar in the region of Jammu and Kashmir to mobilise people ahead of the 2024 national elections.
“The prime minister used to complain an LPG (cooking gas) cylinder cost `400 [£4.35]. Now it costs more than `1,000 [£10.87]. Can he answer our people today?” Rahul Gandhi, the party’s former president and son of Sonia Gandhi, asked amid applause.
He said that the government’s policies over the last eight years had led to record-breaking unemployment and price rises, while its leaders were spreading hate among people over religious issues.
The government says it has contained inflation amid climbing global energy and food prices, and is boosting local manufacturing, while denying charges of inciting communal tension.
The Congress party, facing a slide in its fortunes after losing several state elections in a row, is preparing to elect a new president from outside the NehruGandhi dynasty for the first time in nearly 25 years.
Many people, including civil society groups, still place hope in the party, which helped lead India’s struggle for independence from Britain and dominated politics for decades after it was achieved in 1947.
However, prime minister Narendra Modi remains popular despite criticism over high inflation and unemployment. His Bharatiya Janata party expects to hold power in the northern state of Himachal Preadesh and western Gujarat state assembly elections due later this year.