New Delhi. The Congress on Thursday targeted the government over Vietnam’s alleged overtaking of India in textile exports in the last decade and alleged that the central government was sleeping. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh also shared a news report which claimed, citing ‘Global Trade Research Initiative Data’, that India’s textile exports in 2023-24 were $ 14.5 billion, up from $ 15 billion in 2013-14.
He said, “The Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) emphasized on encouraging labor-based sectors of the economy to boost employment generation. India’s textile exports were $ 15 billion in 2013-14, second only to China. In 2023-24, textile exports were less than $ 14.5 billion.” The Congress leader said, “Vietnam and Bangladesh have overtaken us in the last decade. Vietnam’s textile exports are more than double and Bangladesh’s are more than three times that of India.” Ramesh alleged, “This is clearly and completely a case of suicide. The central government was asleep.”
Modi government is working with a spirit of revenge against farmers: Congress MP Surjewala
In the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Congress’ Randeep Surjewala alleged that the BJP-led government at the Center is working with a spirit of vengeance against the farmers because it feels that due to this class it could not get a clear majority in the general elections and the amount of major schemes related to farmers is not being spent completely.
Participating in the joint discussion on the General Budget 2024-25 and the budget of Jammu and Kashmir in the Upper House, Randeep Surjewala of the Congress termed it as a ‘save the chair, save allies and take revenge for the defeat budget’. He questioned whether the government can hear the groans of the country’s food-providing farmers, the helplessness of the poor and the cries of the unemployed youth? He said, “Have the rulers in power, trapped in the division of caste and religion, become so blind that they now see the food-providing farmers, the poor and the youth as castes?” He said that in the budget speech, farmers, youth and women have been described as three castes.
Surjewala said that this budget is ‘anti-farm, farming and farmers’. He said that in the last ten years, this government has ‘lathied the back and kicked the stomach’ of 72 crore farmers of the country. He said that the wounds on the body of these farmers have healed but the scars of the wounds on their souls are still the same. He accused the government of firing bullets on the farmers, crushing them with jeeps and harassing the farmers who were protesting against the three black agricultural laws.
The Congress member said that when the self-respect of the farmers was hurt, they reduced the ruling party’s claim of 400 seats to 240 in reality, after which today through the budget you are snatching away their livelihood. He alleged that the government is working with a spirit of revenge against the farmers. His allegation was strongly opposed by many members of the ruling party.
The Congress member said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made two promises of giving 50 percent profit on the cost of agricultural produce to the farmers and doubling the income of farmers by the year 2022. He asked whether the General Budget of 2024-25 lived up to this standard? Surjewala said that the talk of giving 50 percent profit on the cost of agricultural produce to the farmers in the budget speech is a false claim. He said that not a single word has been said about the loan waiver of farmers in the budget.