As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi completes eight years in power, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader K Kavitha on Monday, 30 May, asked the government eight questions on topics like women's issues, unemployment, and farmers' distress, among others.
"My 8 questions to PM Modi Ji and his government on the promises that were never kept," Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, said in a post on Twitter.
Her first question was on the representation of women in governments. "Empowering Nari Shakti by giving them an equal footing. Where is the Women reservation Bill, Modi ji," the Nizamabad Member of Legislative Council (MLC) asked.
She then asked the government about the rise in fuel prices, saying that while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country was falling, another "GDP ( Gas - Diesel - Petrol)" was on the rise. She also asked the government where the revenue earned from the hike in prices was being invested.
TRS Leader Raises Farmers' Issues, Law & Order, Inflation
In her third question, Kavitha alleged that the BJP government was biased against Telangana, saying that dues worth Rs 7,000 were yet to be paid to the state by the Centre.
"With inflation at a record breaking high, when will we as a country see “Acche Din” of “Mehengai Mukt Bharat," she asked as her fourth question.
The MLC then went on to question the maintenance of law and order in the country, saying, "Failed law and order, failed systems - When will the non-PR and real “Amrit Kaal” be given to the people of India?"
Kavitha then said that paddy and turmeric farmers of Telangana, whom she called the "heartbeat of India," were suffering at the hands of the BJP.
She questioned the government on the rising unemployment in the country, claiming that crores of Indians were struggling to find jobs in "Modi government's 'New India'," despite the "minimum income support" provided by the Centre.
In her final question, Kavitha pointed fingers at the PM Cares Fund, demanding accountability over where the funds were being used.
"Finally, will there be a day when the #PMCares truly to tell the nation the truth and the accountability of funds? Under PM Modi, the last 8 years have been nothing less than a "behaal" India," she said in a tweet.
Congress Raises Questions on Communal Polarisation, Inflation, Unemployment
Kavitha's tweets come after the Congress Party posed eight questions to the Modi government on 26 May, while releasing a booklet in Hindi called "8 saal, 8 chaal, BJP Sarkar Viphal."
While addressing the press, Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Ajay Maken claimed that the BJP's promise of "acche din" at the beginning of the party's tenure in 2014 had resulted in good days only for the government and "bank fraudsters who earned Rs 5.35 lakh crore under the Modi government."
They also pointed to the "failures" of the government regarding management of the economy, alleging that "what was once the fastest growing economy, is now in turmoil thanks to the BJP’s eight years of misgovernance."
The leaders further added that unemployment and inflation rates were at an all-time high.
Fall in India's Position in Global Indices
Surjewala and Maken also spoke about India's current position in international indices.
"India is slipping across all global indicators… In the Global Hunger Index, in 2014, India was on the 55th position and today we are at the 101st position," Maken said.
He further said that in the Press Freedom Index, India's stood at the 150th position, compared to 142nd earlier, while in the Rule of Law Index, the country had slipped from the 35th position to the 79th.
Surejewala also claimed that even as China continued to "infiltrate our borders," PM Modi remained silent.
Finally, the leaders slammed the government over the communal polarisation taking place in the country.
"The government’s agenda is to divide the country. The attention of people is redirected from real problems to communal violence," they said.
The BJP government, to mark its eight years in power, has planned to undertake outreach programmes across the country from 30 May to 15 June. The programmes will include events to connect with marginalised sections of society, such as Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, etc.
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