Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Centre while addressing the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress President expressed dissatisfaction over President Droupadi Murmu’s speech as it failed to have any mention of the measures to run policies listed by the government.

He started his speech saying the President’s speech only contained the achievements and projects fulfilled by the government. The veteran Congress leader asserted his frustration with the Centre’s approach to work done by previous governments and said that indeed if the government did so much work, why is it apparently jealous of the work done by previous governments.

He said that it is fine for the BJP-led government to list its achievements but they should also acknowledge the work done by the previous government.

Failure on Unemployment

In a time where 30 lakh job positions in government and public sector lie vacant, the Centre is funnelling huge amounts to the private sector. The public sector employs a far bigger workforce than the private sector, Kharge added.

The Congress chief also said the Government has consistently failed on the issue of unemployment. He reminded Narendra Modi’s poll promise of creating 2 crore jobs every year. He said he doesn’t see 9 crore jobs that should have been ensured by the Centre over these 9 years.

Polls over Parliament

Kharge also accused the Narendra Modi-led government of always being in election mode, referring to the Prime Minister’s recurring visits to poll-bound Karnataka. He said that while proceedings are starting in Parliament, central ministers are campaigning in his home constituency Gulbarga in Karnataka.

The Congress chief also took up the social justice scenario prevailing in the country. Citing rampant attacks on people belonging to Scheduled Castes, he questioned why despite being a Hindu, a SC person cannot enter a temple or get a proper education. It is only during election season where ministers can be spotted with people from these classes and eating at their homes.

Adani issue a hot pick

Kharge flagged the Adani-Hindenburg issue, which has been a controversy for quite some time with the Centre initially stonewalling attempts by the Opposition to seek a discussion and a subsequent probe into the matter.

He said that LIC, SBI have given loans in crores to the Adani conglomerate whereas a ‘No Dues Certificate’ was declined to a Gujarat farmer. He also questioned the meteoric rise in wealth of some capitalists allegedly close to PM Modi.