Citizens’ report highlights ignorance of BJP-led government

Allahabad: As the NDA celebrated three years of BJP government, a 110-page citizen’s report compiled by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan claimed: “In the third year of a five-year term in which the BJP-led government has little of substance to show on issues that affect India’s poor and middle classes.”

The report which has over 4,000 civil society organisations and individuals on board has contributions of a diverse collection of analysis of government’s performance with reference to accountability, budget, climate justice, civil society space, education, environment, food and nutrition, functioning of Parliament, governance, health, housing and urban poverty, human rights, labour and employment, land rights, livelihood, peace, security and justice, water and sanitation and the constituency groups are LGBTQI, children, Dalits, minorities, person with disability, senior citizens, tribals, women, and youth.

When these many parameters are taken together, the report raises uneasy questions regarding the core issues faced by the citizens of India under Modi Government. The last three years are marked by the government enabling rather than curbing human rights violations. This period has seen the government ignoring rights of marginalised communities, reported by NH.

The report further asks the NDA Government compromising the quality of higher education and anti-corruption bodies, and also asks about the growing unemployment.

Although the BJP manifesto hailed women as nation builders and promised 33% reservation to them in Parliament and state legislatures, the government has done nothing yet, as per the report analysis.

“Three years down the line, the slogan has proved to be nothing more than words,” it says while referring to the Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas scheme.

“For millions of young voters, Prime Minister Modi’s most alluring election promise in 2014 was that his government would create ten million jobs, reversing the dismal UPA record of almost jobless growth.” the report accuses the government and the PM of not keeping the promise of providing jobs.

It further noted that minorities were harassed over religious sentiments. It gave examples of vigilantes groups in Kashmir, attack on African students, Bhopal encounter and says the year 2016 saw human rights come under sustained assault.

“The status of anti-corruption institutions and legislation is a clear indication of how the Bharatiya Janata Party is reneging with impunity on its poll promise of a Bhrashtachar-mukt Bharat.”

“Starving public universities of funds and pushing the students towards the private universities seems to be the twin strategy for higher education in the NDA regime. The fund squeeze and increased centralisation have created unease in campuses. Recent UGC regulations have drastically reduced the number of seats for MPhil/PhD in JNU and other universities, which will adversely affect the poor and socially weaker section students,” the report states.

“Policy paralysis on Kashmir is definitely among the big failures of the Central government,” it says while criticising that NDA government’s Kashmir policy is formulated by either retired intelligence officers or RSS workers.

“More than halfway through its five-year term, the NDA government has successfully built a public perception on its intention of taking policy measures to improve the health of the people. However, a critical review of the translation of rhetoric into action points to the lack of political will to take substantial steps to implement them,” the report claims.