Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, May 18: Former chief minister of Karnataka and leader of the opposition in the assembly, Siddaramaiah, took a dig at Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi accusing him of creating a ‘fools’ paradise’ and leaving the poor and middle classes of the country in lurch.
In a series of tweets relating to various packages announced by the central government to revive the economy battered by COVID lockdown, Siddaramaiah said that as against the 'Garibi Hatao' slogan of Indira Gandhi, Modi has invited the poor to become poorer by raising more loans. He said that the poor people, in order to get five percent benefit, may die of hunger trying to get this benefit and the number of deaths in this case will be more than that in the case of coronavirus infection.
Siddaramaiah (left) and PM Narendra Modi
Siddaramaiah stated that instead of increasing the spending capacity of workers and poor people, Modi is encouraging them to raise loans. "Instead of finding ways to raise their income, he has been asking street vendors to take loans. He is not extending social security. Instead of creating self-reliant India, these steps will burden people with more debt," he said.
Before that, Siddaramaiah had, through a press release, termed the Rs 20 lac crore package announced by the union government as a mirage that can be seen only on TV screens and newspaper pages but not available to people. "Instead of following advice of economists to provide money to the poor, Modi is trying to fill the coffers of the government," he criticized.
Siddaramaiah said that the package, which looks like robust, is actually something else. He said that only 45 lac bigger size small scale industries will get the lion's share of the package, among 6.2 crore small scale industries in the country. He said that improvement can be brought about only by acts like paying salary to workers, waiving of interest on loans etc. He also said that by increasing the foreign direct investment limit in defence sector to 74 percent, Modi has compromised with the country's security.