Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday for "maintaining silence" on the questions raised by the grand old party. PM Modi is visiting Rajasthan today to address a poll rally in Karauli. Targetting the Prime Minister, Congress asked if he is going to break his silence on three issues, the languishment of the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), "worrying" expenditure figures on advertisements government, and a reaction on "Modi Sarkar’s ill-conceived Agnipath Scheme".
"Last time, the PM was silent on these matters, in his customary style. Maybe this time the PM will have the courage to address these three issues of the people," Ramesh alleged in an X post.
Questioning the Rajasthan government's spending on advertisements, the Congress alleged, "Between April 2015 and July 2023, the Central Government spent 180 crores of public money on ads in the state. The five newspapers that received the largest shares either carry pro-BJP or plagiarised content and have marginal circulation."
"This has been a pattern in their ad spending across India - several small, unknown newspapers that fail to even meet the government’s norms for posting ads, have received the most contracts. It looks like the PM is killing two birds with one stone - misusing government funds to promote the BJP, and supporting his cronies in the process. Can the PM clarify the basis on which his Government is allocating its advertisement budget?" the grand old party said.
The grand old party further asked PM Modi, ahead of his visit to Karauli, sought clarification from the saffron party, asking, "Why has the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) languished for so long? Towns like Dholpur and Bhensena are struggling to meet their basic water needs and women still have to walk several kilometres to get water."
"On 7th July 2018 and 6th October 2018, PM Modi promised to the people of Rajasthan that the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) will be given national project status. This designation would have enabled the Centre to bear 90% of the funding costs. After the Congress came to power in 2018, then-Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote to the PM on six occasions, requesting him to fulfil his promise so that this essential infrastructure project could commence. Despite the PM’s promises, the BJP not only denied national project status, but also refused to respond to any of Mr. Gehlot’s letters," Ramesh said.
"Now, the BJP government has hastily pushed the project through before the election, at massive cost to the state exchequer. Why has the Prime Minister failed to fulfil the promise he made to the people of Rajasthan? Where is the “Double Engine Sarkar” when Rajasthan really needs it?" he asked.
Accusing Modi government of being accustomed to betraying India’s youth, Ramesh asked, "The youth of Rajasthan have consistently demonstrated their opposition to the Modi Sarkar’s ill-conceived Agnipath Scheme. Even if we ignore the unrealistic expectation of preparing young soldiers for battle within 6 months, how can we ignore the scheme’s impact on their long-term job prospects? Where will young recruits go after spending four years of their prime in the army?"
"In a country that has been rocked by rampant unemployment under the BJP’s mismanagement of the economy, what options do the youth have? A lack of private sector jobs and now shrinking public sector opportunities - is this the Modi government’s “Double Engine ki Sarkar”? What is the PM’s vision to secure the prospects of our youth?" he said.