New Delhi: A day after Kapil Sibal left the Congress party, the grand old party on Thursday addressed media personnel from its headquarters here and criticized the Modi government for fuelling hatred and said that "it's been 8 years since the BJP came to power. Before coming into power (pre-2014), they came up with a slogan 'Ache Din Aane Walle hai, Modi Ji Laane Vaale Hai' but are we seeing any such 'Ache Din," asked Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
Launching a small booklet on the performance of the BJP government in the last 8 years titled "8 years, 8 lies and the failures of the BJP government", Surjewala blamed the Modi government for failed economic policies and for helping a handful of big industrialists whose name we later saw in the huge bank frauds, he said.
Taking a jibe at the Modi government, Surjewala said that looking at India's growth in terms of economic prosperity, the country is witnessing its biggest inflation and unemployment crisis. "And the saffron party talks about bringing 'Ache Din'! Whose 'Ache Din' are they talking about," questioned Surjewala.
On Rahul Gandhi's visit to London to which BJP is raising issues, Surjewala said, ''I am reiterating again if you are a minister or holding a public office, or a government official, then you need political clearance. Rahul Gandhi is a parliamentarian and only needed an FCRA clearance. We still are a democratic country and don't live in the stone age and the BJP wants to rake up this issue so that they can divert public attention from other key issues such as unemployment, inflation, and others."
In his address, Ajay Maken, a key leader in the Congress party, cites India's position in the global hunger index. "In 2014, it was 55 and now it stands at 101. In the freedom of press index, we now stand at the 150th spot, gender gap index has risen from 114 in 2014 to 140 in 2022. The democracy index has increased from 27 to 46. Is this what you call Ache Din," asked Maken.