Modi govt only manufacturing jumlas and slogans: Congress leader Kapil Sibal

The Congress on Friday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vocal for local” call and the economic stimulus package to make the country self-reliant as yet another jumla to divert the attention of the people from “real issues”.

Addressing a virtual press conference, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal asked how can India become self-reliant till it creates innovation and intellectual property in its universities.

“This is an act of self-deception. This is another ‘jumla’ (rhetoric) that you sell to the people of the country,” he said.

He said the prime minister has given a call for “Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan”, but his government has failed to help make the poor, farmers, migrant workers, industry or states self-reliant.

“Similarly, his calls to industry to push ‘Made in India, Made for the World’, to expand globally, and not be dependent on another country in the strategic sector did not have a clear road map as to how this goal should be achieved,” said Sibal.

He said the Rs 20-lakh crore Atmanirbhar package does not lead to expansion of government expenditure, as it includes measures already announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and in the budget, and amounts to less than 1% of GDP, as against 10% claimed by the ruling party.

“The reality is that Modi’s Atmanirbhar idea is merely a slogan like innumerable others,” Sibal said, and sought private investment in universities to create innovation and ideas.

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