Youth, farmers let down by Modi govt: Congress

Patna: State Congress chief Rajesh Ram on Sunday criticised 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.Addressing a press conference, Ram claimed that the Congress made the country the world’s largest democracy, the country’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index had slipped to 157 among 180 countries in 2026. He also questioned the govt’s claims on food security, citing India’s position in the Global Hunger Index.Ram alleged that the Modi govt’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.The Congress leader also criticised 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 govt’s employment and skill-development initiatives.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 govt had fallen short of expectations in the implementation of schemes such as PM Awas Yojana, Mahila Samman and

MGNREGA

.