Misgovernance over past decade has caused economic distress: Cong MP Gogoi targets govt

This House has seen many prime ministers and each one has discharged his responsibilities and replied to questions, Gogoi, the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said.He also said there was large-scale corruption in the implementation of government schemes and the beneficiaries labharthi have to pay tax to avail benefits.If you want Awas Yojana house, pay labharthi tax.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Friday asserted that the opposition parties will not be intimidated by the BJP-led government's attempts to weaken them and accused the ruling party of misgovernance over the past decade which has caused economic distress.

Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Gogoi also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying whenever he enters and leaves the House he is greeted by his party members with loud applause.

''He sits for some time and then leaves, but has never replied to any question. This House has seen many prime ministers and each one has discharged his responsibilities and replied to questions,'' Gogoi, the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said.

He also said there was large-scale corruption in the implementation of government schemes and the beneficiaries ('labharthi') have to pay “tax” to avail benefits.

''If you want Awas Yojana house, pay labharthi tax. If you want to enrol for the PM-KISAN initiative, pay labharthi tax. If you want a gas connection under Ujjwala, then pay labharthi tax. This is the reality,'' he said.

The Congress deputy leader said 11 crore people had received payout under the PM-KISAN scheme initially and the number was later reduced to three crore.

''Why did these numbers reduce? How many fake beneficiaries got the payout? Was there any investigation? Such things are forgotten and claims are made that corruption has disappeared,'' Gogoi said.

The Congress leader said he respected the prime minister a lot as he has risen to the top position from very humble beginnings.

''But the sad part is that he has taken his chair to such a height that he cannot listen to the problems faced by the people. He cannot see the tears of the unemployed youth,'' Gogoi said.

Certain remarks made by Gogoi were expunged by the chair after objections from Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Arjun Ram Meghwal.

The Congress leader said the BJP government was a master of distraction to shift people's attention from reality.

''This government has a doctorate in event management. They have a PhD in attention management. When we ask why didn't the prime minister go to Manipur, they say 'look at the G20, the prime minister is in Paris'. When we say 100 people died during demonetisation, they say 'look at Modi's face on Paytm','' he said.

''When we raise questions on China entering our territory, they try to divert the attention by saying that 'we are more powerful than the Maldives'. When we say 10 per cent of the population controls 50 per cent of the country's wealth, they claim to be the fastest-growing economy,'' Gogoi said.

The Congress leader said a number of unemployed youths have been resorting to illegal immigration to America in search of jobs and the government itself has admitted that such a trend has increased in the last five years.

''A few days back a movie called 'Dunki' was released. 'Dunki' is not merely a movie, it is the reality,'' Gogoi said.

''In 2022-23, 90,000 people tried to enter the US illegally, sometimes from Canada, sometimes from Mexico. They are forced to go to UAE, Canada and America leaving their families and homes behind,'' Gogoi said, alleging that the prime minister was ignorant about this.

''Even the armed forces personnel are wondering what will happen to them after four years. The armed forces did not propose the Agniveer scheme. Who are the outsiders who proposed this scheme,'' Gogoi said.

The Congress leader said the government was trying to distract the people from the problems faced by the nation.

''They are using distraction to weaken the power of the people,'' Gogoi said.

He said the opposition will create every hurdle in the desire of the ruling party to convert democracy into a royal court.

The Congress leader said under the BJP government, there were different rules for the opposition.

''There are different rules for Bihar and Jharkhand. When the Bihar government is to be changed the chief minister gets sworn in overnight but in Jharkhand where we have numbers there you ask us to wait for 10 days,'' he said.

''If we fight against them, they will send us to jail... If we fight against them, they slap us with Saradha tax. But if we join them...it acts a washing machine,'' Gogoi said, in an apparent reference to the Saradha chit fund scam.

''But we will not be scared. We will continue to carry out our responsibility. We will unite India and open the shop of love in the market of hatred,'' he said.