The Congress has dismissed the Niti Aayog claim about 24.82 crore people being lifted out of poverty in the past nine years as “a ridiculous lie”, questioning both the method and yardsticks through which these findings came about.
“This is the newest jumla of the Narendra Modi government," said party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, wondering how consumption would not rise if poverty had been so drastically removed. While many independent observers and economists have debunked the Niti Aayog claim, the Congress spokesperson said the ground reality presented a stark rebuttal.
Former finance minister P. Chidambaram also expressed concern at the Modi government’s alleged tendency to manipulate research and data. Though he was commenting on the recent punitive action against the Centre for Policy Research, Chidambaram said: “If independent research and opinion can point out the deficiencies in the economic policies, that would be good for the country.”
He added: “At least that is what I thought. But the government thinks that such research and opinion ‘hurt India’s economic interests’. Who is the ultimate judge of India’s economic interests? The government or the people? If research and opinion must toe the government line, that would end academic freedom. Perhaps the government thinks that when there is Niti Aayog, why should anyone else do research and offer opinions?”
A Niti Aayog discussion paper has said multidimensional poverty in India declined from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent of the population in 2022-23, with about 24.82 crore people moving out of this bracket in nine years. “If poverty is declining, why has consumption declined constantly? The government figures suggest that there are only 15 crore poor in India now. So why is the government giving free ration to 80 crore people?” Shrinate asked.
She added: “Have these findings by the Niti Aayog been endorsed by any independent agency such as the International Monetary Fund or World Bank? The Niti Aayog has measured poverty based on the government’s flagship programmes, ignoring the standard parameters adopted the world over. But lies have a short lifespan. The government’s recent growth figures suggested the consumption growth was barely 4.4 per cent. If people are getting more money, why are they not buying basic stuff such as soap, hair oil, toothpaste, biscuits and so on?”
Pointing out that the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) companies were facing stagnant growth, reflecting poor demand, Shrinate asked: “Is this a conspiracy to deny 25 crore poor free ration? Isn’t this a vulgar joke that 80 crore people need free ration in a country where there are only 15 crore poor? Truth doesn’t alter by altering parameters. The government says you are not poor if you have a toilet in your house, whether you have something to eat or not. If five households have electricity connection in a village, the entire village will be presumed electrified. None of the villagers will be considered poor.”
She said the report that 27 crore people were lifted out of poverty in the UPA regime was corroborated by the World Bank. "We didn’t prepare it behind closed doors. The Niti Aayog report is designed to fuel the government’s propaganda," she said. Now the BJP will build a narrative based on this false data. The truth is that the Modi government is compelled to rely on a lie after its 10-year tenure because it has failed to solve the country’s problems.
Commenting on the revelation about the Prime Minister trying to pressurise the Finance Commission, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said: “This is an extraordinary revelation by a top Modi government official, who is currently no less than the CEO of the Niti Aayog. The official has revealed that Modi himself made a dastardly unconstitutional attempt to intimidate the 14th Finance Commission into letting him steal from the state governments' share of tax revenues. The 14th Finance Commission had recommended 42 per cent, but the newly elected Prime Minister was keen to slash this to much lesser.”
These revelations came from B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of Niti Aayog, who was earlier a joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, while speaking at a seminar recently.
Ramesh said: “When the Prime Minister failed in this endeavour, his government ‘was forced to hastily redo its maiden full budget in 48 hours and slash funding’ for social welfare programmes. Worse, this official revealed that the Modi government’s budget claims are ‘covered in layers and layers of attempt to cover the truth’ and added he was ‘sure you will have a Hindenburg who will open up the (government’s) accounts if they are transparent’. The reference to Hindenburg says it all.”
He added: “This blatant disregard for a constitutional body exposes the Prime Minister's real niyat: over-centralisation, absolute control and dismantling of India’s federalism. Nor can we ignore the human impact of this attempted cornering of mandated funds for states, denying them their constitutional right. State governments finance everything from law and order to school education and have had fewer sources of revenue after the introduction of the GST.”
