Govt's policies have failed MSMEs, including those in Aligarh, says Cong

Can PM Modi tell us why the people of Aligarh are still waiting for this crucial project Ramesh said.He further said that on March 2, 2023, a special court in Hathras district acquitted three of the four accused in the September 2020 rape and murder case of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Monday alleged that the government has ''decimated'' MSMEs across the country and asked why is Aligarh's 100-yr old lock industry struggling under his dispensation.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had posed questions to the prime minister ahead of his rally in Aligarh, and asked why has the BJP failed to deliver justice to the Hathras rape victim.

Elaborating on what he said were ''jumla details'', Ramesh alleged that the decades-old lock industry in Aligarh has suffered under the Modi government.

''This government has decimated MSMEs across the country, and Aligarh is no exception. When he campaigned in Aligarh in 2014, PM Modi had made small businesses the focus of his speech. Yet, 10 years later, Aligarh still does not have a government depot where lock makers can purchase raw materials at reasonable rates,'' he said.

''Expensive and unreliable electricity supply is also a major issue, causing frequent delays in manufacturing and significantly raising the cost of manufacturing locks,'' he said in a post on X.

Finally, lock-makers have struggled to adapt to the Modi government's GST regime, and have received no support from the government in competing with Chinese companies, he said.

''Why has the BJP ignored this once-thriving industry? What is PM Modi's vision to revive the MSMEs that have been devastated by his government's poor implementation of GST?'' Ramesh said.

In 2017's Smart City Survey, citizens had deemed the Aligarh Ring Road Project the biggest need of their city. It would reduce traffic, improve connectivity, and promote economic growth, he said.

''Seven years later, however, the ring road project is yet to take off. Although a tender was floated before the last election, it was mysteriously scrapped, and the road was never built. A BJP MP has been accused of hindering the project. Is this a case of Chanda Do Dhanda Lo? Can PM Modi tell us why the people of Aligarh are still waiting for this crucial project?'' Ramesh said.

He further said that on March 2, 2023, a special court in Hathras district acquitted three of the four accused in the September 2020 rape and murder case of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras. ''The main accused was convicted under charges not related to rape or murder, and the other three walked free – largely due to a shoddy police investigation, including a forensic examination that occurred eleven days after the crime. The victim's family has been put through an ordeal by the BJP's Double Anyay Sarkar,'' Ramesh said.

The victim fought for her life for 15 days before succumbing to injuries at a government hospital, he said.

''Her family faced intimidation throughout, and the victim's body was hurriedly cremated by the UP Police in the wee hours of the morning without her family members. The family has alleged that they haven't been given the Government job that the Allahabad High Court ordered the UP Government to give them – in fact, the Yogi Sarkar unsuccessfully challenged this order in the Supreme Court,'' Ramesh said.

He claimed that the Yogi government has also reportedly resisted moving the Allahabad High Court to seek justice for the family. ''This is not an exception: cases of assault and hate crime against Dalits have increased in the last few years. Why have the PM and his party failed to deliver justice? Why have they been so callous and indifferent to the family's suffering?'' Ramesh said and asked the PM to break his silence on the issue.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)