Patna: State Congress chief Rajesh Ram on Sunday criticized the BJP's celebrations marking 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure, alleging that several promises made to the youth remain unfulfilled and that the Centre's policies have adversely affected the economy, development and India's global standing.
Press Conference Highlights
Addressing a press conference, Ram claimed that the Congress made the country the world's largest democracy, but under the current government, India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index had slipped to 157 among 180 countries in 2026. He also questioned the government's claims on food security, citing India's position in the Global Hunger Index.
Economic and Employment Concerns
Ram alleged that the Modi government's policies over the past 12 years primarily benefited a select group of corporate interests while failing to address unemployment. Referring to CMIE data, he claimed that youth unemployment stood at 45.4% in 2022-23 and said this contrasted with the promise of creating two crore jobs annually made in 2014.
He further alleged that demonetisation in 2016 had adversely affected employment, GDP growth and small businesses. Rising prices of LPG, petrol and diesel, he said, had placed an additional burden on households across income groups.
Health and Education Spending
The Congress leader also criticized spending on the health sector, claiming that actual expenditure was lower than budgetary allocations. He alleged that Bihar continued to be neglected by the Centre despite concerns raised in audit reports.
Ram further claimed that promises such as doubling farmers' income and large-scale skill development of youth had not been fulfilled. Citing unemployment among graduates, he questioned the effectiveness of the government's employment and skill-development initiatives.
Paper Leaks and Scheme Implementation
He also alleged that 89 paper leaks, including four alone of NEET, over the past 12 years had adversely affected students and job aspirants. Ram further claimed that the government had fallen short of expectations in the implementation of schemes such as PM Awas Yojana, Mahila Samman and MGNREGA.
